In the FCWC region, national and regional fisheries statistics and data collection efforts have culminated in the FCWC Data Centre, comprising the Fisheries Management System (FMS) and the FCWC Regional Database (RDB) established in 2019 through the technical cooperation project between the FCWC and FAO.
The FCWC Regional Data Centre maintains a Regional Database for fish catch and effort data from its Member States. Data on fish species, fishing effort and fishing gear per year from the artisanal and industrial fisheries has been collated, starting from 2016 onwards.
Since then, two Letters of Agreement (LOAs) were signed between the FCWC and the FAO-FIRMS Secretariat, under which the FCWC FMS and RDB were updated to comply with international reporting standards for industrial and artisanal data for all FCWC Member States. Activities conducted as part of the LOA include:
Review and support consistent dissemination through FIRMS of the integrated fisheries inventories and RDB/Catch and Efforts indicators.
Compile the FAO Small-Scale Fisheries Matrix for the characterization of the national artisanal fisheries.
In collaboration with FAO, conduct in-country missions to selected FCWC member countries to review the effectiveness of the data collection system used to collect and process data and evaluate any requirement or opportunity to move to an alternative system required for improvements in fisheries data collection.
Conduct a comprehensive assessment for selected FCWC Member States to resolve on-going issues with the coherence and consistency of reported data for each country with reference to various regional (e.g., FCWC, CECAF) and international (e.g., FAO, ICCAT) reporting obligations.
The outcomes of the collaboration between FAO, the FCWC Secretariat and FCWC Member States have enabled a dynamic update of FIRMS inventories, making the FMS and RDB important resources for addressing gaps in knowledge, by generating scientific knowledge for science-based decision-making in fisheries management.
In addition, national focal points scrutinize entries at regular intervals to resolve discrepancies and harmonize data fields/units, building consistency and ensuring the accuracy of the data. In early 2022, the FAO published 38 factsheets (25 artisanal, 13 semi-industrial/industrial data), as one of the key outputs of the LOA.
The FCWC’s collaboration with the FAO has been instrumental in establishing the Regional Fisheries Data Centre and developing a reliable fisheries management system. The FCWC’s work with the FAO’s Fisheries and Resources Monitoring System (FIRMS) ensures that data from the Centre contributes to global fisheries inventories, reinforcing the role of West Africa in the global fisheries landscape.
The newly published leaflet provides a detailed overview of the FCWC Regional Fisheries Data Centre and its impact on fisheries management in West Africa.
