The Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) and its partners under the Improved Fisheries Governance in Ghana and Wider Sub-Region (IFG) project organized a training workshop for fisheries journalists in the region from 21 – 24 June 2022 in Accra, Ghana.

Participants of the four-day workshop included journalists from Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, and Togo, Ghana’s Deputy-Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture (MOFAD), Hon. Moses Anim (MP), representatives of Hen Mpoano (HM), Friends of the Nation (FoN), Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), members of the Journalists for Responsible Fisheries and Environment (JFRE).

In opening remarks to the participants, FCWC Secretary-General Seraphin Dedi, stated that through the workshop “we would like to partner with you, as key stakeholders, to better understand the common fisheries issues, challenges and prospects within the sub region and enhance reporting on fisheries in your respective countries.” He further emphasized that building greater awareness of fisheries and the issues faced in this sector is an import step to improve fisheries governance in key policy areas of enhanced transparency, law enforcement, collaborative management, and capacity building in the West African sub region.

The presentations were delivered on themes including decent work in the fisheries; the challenges and successes in the implementation of the Port State Measures Agreement; IUU fishing and law enforcement in West Africa; challenges and opportunities in fisheries management in Ghana; and the European Union (EU) yellow card – a formal warning to countries identified as having inadequate measures in place to ensure their catch is legal. Hen Mpoano (HM), Friends of the Nation (FoN), Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), TM Tracking (TMT) and the Fisheries Committee of the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) are working together under the three-year Improving Fisheries Governance in Ghana and the wider sub-region project (IFG project) through funding from the Oak Foundation and Oceans 5, to strengthen fisheries governance and transparency.