Fifth West Africa Task Force meeting strengthens regional collaboration to stop illegal fishing

Fifth West Africa Task Force meeting strengthens regional collaboration to stop illegal fishing

October 2017 — Per Erik Bergh (Managing Director), Mark Ssemakula (Project Officer) and Sally Frankcom (Communications Officer) were in Accra, Ghana for the fifth West Africa Task Force meeting.

The West Africa task Force brings together the six member countries of the Fisheries Committee of the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) — Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Togo — to tackle illegal fishing and fisheries related crime.

The Task Force meeting identified key areas for future cooperation with at-sea transhipment and regional harmonization of licensing and access conditions considered to be priority areas for action.

Per Erik Bergh commended the progress being made: “The West Africa Task Force was based on the FISH-i Africa model of regional cooperation amongst coastal States. We look forward to seeing how the Task Force is able to build on it’s existing cooperation through a stronger regional approach to some of the key issues which undermine fisheries governance and management.”

 

 

 

members of the NFDS team were in London for the 9th International Forum on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing at Chatham House.