EU Supports the Fight Against Illegal Fishing in Western Africa
The component of the result area 2 of the European Union funded West Africa Fisheries Governance Improvement Project dubbed PESCAO implemented by the Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) was launched in Accra on 30th July 2018.
The project, funded under the European Development Fund (EDF), aims to improve regional fisheries governance in Western Africa. This will include developing a regional fishing policy, putting in place regional coordination against Illegal Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing and improving fish stock management at regional level. The EUR 15 million project is one of the many significant commitments to ocean conservation made by the European Union at the 2017 Our Ocean Conference hosted by the EU in Malta.
This new European Union funded regional fisheries program (PESCAO) aims at enhancing regional fisheries management 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; and thirdly demonstrating the added value of coordinated approaches for shared fisheries management.
“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.
Background
The Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) is an Intergovernmental body established in 2007 with its Secretariat based in Tema. With Ghana as its host country, the FCWC facilitates 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
PRESS CONTACT:
Name: Kofi Taylor-Hayford
Phone: +233 553 141 061
Email: communication@fcwc-fish.org