Data collection

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.

FCWC Regional Data Centre Leaflet

Total Industrial Fishing Catch Efforts Per Country/Per Year

Catch Years Countries Annual Catch In Tons annual_value_in_thousands_of_usd
2023 Cote d'Ivoire 15.410.052,00 2.107.010,00
2023 Liberia 4.991.043,00 489.122.214,00
2023 Togo 128.334,00 48.461.249,00
2022 Benin 110.447,00 37.215.981,00
2022 Cote d'Ivoire 17.303.893,00 2.915.742,00
2022 Liberia 5.133.931,00 519.625.490,00
2022 Togo 92.732,00 35.962.238,00
2021 Benin 53.560,00 7.451.528.000,00
2021 Ghana 133.251.600,00 5.646.232.855,00
2021 Liberia 4.292.080,00 235.066.874.773,00
2021 Nigeria 7.620.951,00 11.874.120.216,00
2021 Togo 117.165,00 51.330.816,00
2020 Cote d'Ivoire 10.441.728,00 966.349.834,00
2020 Ghana 661.927.140,00 165.593.030.000,00
2020 Togo 84.765,00 28.969.728,00
2019 Cote d'Ivoire 32.116.034,00 3.094.804.685,00
2019 Ghana 36.594.610,00 9.364.738.000,00
2018 Ghana 33.993.895,00 8.495.964.832,00

Total Artisanal Fishing Catch Efforts Per Country/Per Year

Catch Years country number_of_fishing_days Annual Catch In Tons annual_value_in_thousands_of_cfa
2023 Cote d'Ivoire 4.488.973 3.990.442,00 4.050.539.594,00
2023 Liberia 12.214.656 2.268.115,00 3.634.457.000,00
2023 Togo 1.471.841 1.579.860,00 1.493.784.600,00
2022 Benin 6.093.714 3.337.376,00 4.591.156.019,00
2022 Cote d'Ivoire 8.505.839 3.821.939,00 4.310.332.692,00
2022 Ghana 10.419.942 14.645.880,00 101.589.100,00
2022 Liberia 42.821.569 2.370.400,00 336.596.800.000,00
2022 Togo 1.081.980 1.490.970,00 1.567.548.300,00
2021 Benin 7.093.069 3.759.144,00 4.800.713.111,00
2021 Cote d'Ivoire 9.507.808 4.361.507,00 4.805.991.459,00
2021 Ghana 56.139.802 20.025.880,00 113.068.500,00
2021 Liberia 25.259.971 2.118.616,00 2.415.683.000,00
2021 Nigeria 364.172 3.624.060,00 2.610.681.100,00
2021 Togo 761.290 1.156.680,00 1.177.483.200,00
2020 Cote d'Ivoire 10.237.856 3.230.747,00 2.831.339.400,00
2019 Benin 6.760.019 3.794.800,00 5.593.617.300,00
2019 Cote d'Ivoire 11.435.797 4.603.886,00 4.443.828.900,00
2019 Liberia 20.166 0,00 1.000,00
2019 Togo 1.037.827 1.840.230,00 704.047.250,00
2018 Benin 6.895.966 2.872.920,00 3.321.098.500,00
2018 Cote d'Ivoire 3.049.471 4.123.130,00 3.223.982.300,00
2018 Ghana 20.019.143 15.719.310,00 57.110.000,00
2018 Liberia 2.908.071 1.047.600,00 550.187.400,00
2018 Togo 1.138.649 1.758.400,00 636.786.100,00
2017 Benin 7.684.379 2.600.370,00 0,00
2017 Cote d'Ivoire 10.828.349 3.550.581,00 2.626.924.000,00
2017 Ghana 28.888.433 17.336.090,00 65.177.200,00
2017 Togo 763.333 1.952.820,00 753.658.200,00
2016 Benin 3.817.174 1.289.030,00 1.227.336.300,00
2016 Togo 251.546 1.635.400,00 564.358.600,00

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