The Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, paid a visit to the Ghana Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) Centre on 1st June 2019, during her two-day official visit to Ghana to expand the cooperation on fisheries between the two countries with an agreement.

Speaking at the visit to the MCS centre, Prime Minister Solberg emphasized the importance of collaboration and cooperation on fisheries between neighbouring countries, sharing experiences and adapting effective solutions to their situations. “One of the things that helped Norway most to ensure that they [tackled] illegal fishing in waters around Norway, affecting fisheries stocks, was also to get the European Union to make sure that you could not land fish, and [to demand proof of] the origin and licensing for [fishing] at their harbors,” said Prime Minister Solberg.

Secretary-General of the Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC), Seraphin Dedi gave a presentation on the regional aspects of MCS and cooperation with Norwegian NGO Trygg Mat Tracking (TMT) to develop the West Africa Task Force. He credited Norway for the gains that have been made in the regional MCS through the FCWC partnership with TMT, and TMT’s technical assistance in building cooperation, strengthening capacities of the existing MCS structures and officers in the six countries. “Norway’s support to the FCWC over the last 4 years has enabled FCWC to develop into an effective regional organization, pushing the regional agenda to achieve sustainable natural resource management, the SDGs, and promoting international governance initiatives,” he said.

In celebration of the successes and improvements in MCS efforts nationally and regionally, and also in acknowledgement of the second international day for the Fight Against IUU Fishing, the dignitaries who participated in the visit signed a commitment board further indicating their dedication to fight IUU fishing.

FCWC Secretariat