The Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) participated in the French Navy’s Sixth Symposium of Chiefs of Etat-major of the Navies of the Gulf of Guinea on 20 October 2022 in Paris, France.

The symposium brought together the Chiefs of Etat-major of the Navies of the coastal states of the Gulf of Guinea (which includes all FCWC Member States) and from Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Italy, France, Netherlands, Portugal, the United Kingdom, United States, Brazil, Canada, Morocco, Mauritania, and representatives of France and other international organizations for exchange and sharing of experiences on how to achieve maritime security. Themes for the symposium included sharing maritime information; education and operational training; and environmental safety.

FCWC Secretary-General, Seraphin Dedi spoke during the panel discussion on sharing maritime information, drawing from the FCWC’s information-sharing mechanism established under the WATF, and recent experiences in patrol operations. 

The FCWC recently coordinated the Grand African Nemo 22.4 exercise dedicated to fisheries crimes and involving the coastal navies of the Gulf of Guinea and the maritime security centres of the Yaoundé Architecture. 

“The symposium has been an opportunity to highlight the regular work of FCWC organization to address IUU fishing and other criminalities at sea and also link the Committee to the board of maritime Etat-major for better communication collaboration and cooperation,” he said.

The FCWC organization adopted a protocol for regular joint fisheries patrol in December 2021, and this meeting paves the way for long-term collaboration in the implementation of this programme.