Improved Regional Frisheries Governance in West Africa
CRT: FED/2018/395-928
EUROPEAN UNION
PRESS RELEASE
For Immediate Release
ACCRA (30th – 31st July 2018) – The Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) will launch the Improving Fisheries Governance in West Africa – PESCAO project funded by the European Union today at the Coconut Grove Hotel with strong commitment and support from the Government of the Republic of Ghana, the host Country.
“To address the challenges of poor management of fish stocks, IUU fishing and lack of coordination and cooperation among regional institutions and national authorities, the FCWC Secretariat and Member Countries in cooperation with partners developed the ‘Fisheries Intelligence and MCS Support in West Africa’ project funded by NORAD. We are pleased that successes of our previously implemented projects in the region have drawn other initiatives to partner with us and we look forward to building upon the work that has already been done,” states Seraphin Dedi, the Secretary-General of the FCWC.
In general, the contribution of fisheries to the economic development of West Africa is sub-optimal and the current governance of fisheries threatens food security, means of subsistence and marine biodiversity. This new European Union funded regional fisheries program (PESCAO) aims at enhancing regional fisheries management in a number of ways, including by firstly, addressing regional fisheries policy at the Economic Community of West African Countries (ECOWAS) level; secondly by building the capacities of competent national and regional Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) authorities to deter Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing; thirdly, by demonstrating the added value of coordinated approaches for shared fisheries management.
The meeting is expected to be chaired by the Minister for Fisheries and Aquaculture, Hon. Elizabeth Naa Afoley Quaye, with high-level participant guests such as the Acting Ambassador of the European Union Delegation in Ghana, Mr. Paolo Salvia; the Director of Agriculture and Rural Development at ECOWAS, Dr. Sy Troaré; representatives of the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA), and Directors of Fisheries, Heads of Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) from each FCWC member States.
The Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) as Intergovernmental body, was established in 2007 with its Secretariat based in Tema, Ghana as its host country, to facilitate cooperation in fisheries management between the member countries: Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Nigeria. The countries have several shared fish stocks and identified a need for cooperation and shared management of these resources.
For further information, please visit www.fcwc-fish.org.
