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The 9th Conference of Ministers of the FCWC
The 9th Conference of Ministers of the Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) was held the 14-16th December 2016 in Monrovia, Liberia. The theme of the Conference was “Fish Trade and value addition to fisheries for social and economic benefit of our population”.
In his opening address, the Vice-President of the Republic of Liberia the Honourable Joseph N. Boakai congratulated the FCWC Member States, the Secretariat and its partners for their commitment and their efforts to build effective cooperation to strengthen fisheries governance in the region. He noted that this cooperation had greatly strengthened Liberia’s ability to address illegal fishing in national waters.
During the two day meeting of the Advisory and Coordinating Committee (ACC) that preceded the Ministerial Conference, the 2016 activities of the FCWC West Africa Task Force (WATF) were presented and discussed. The WATF was highlighted by all participants for contributing to improved communication and cooperation between the FCWC Member States, and its impact as a deterrent to illegal fishing operations in the region. At the following Conference the Ministers recommended and endorsed all efforts to build and strengthen the West Africa Task Force.
Participants at the meeting included the Directors of Fisheries of the six FCWC members countries, technical and financial partners such as the Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources of the African Union (AU-IBAR), WorldFish, European Union Commission (EUC), African Natural Resources Centre (ANRC) of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission (SRFC)/West African Regional Fisheries Project (WARFP), Regional Office of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (RAF/FAO), INFOPECHE, and ATLAFCO. Also present were members of the Technical Team for the West Africa Task Force.
The Honourable Dr Moses M. Zinnah, Minister of Agriculture of the Republic of Liberia, highlighted that: ‘The major constraints and challenges to improve fish trade can only be met through greater cooperation, harmonization of policies and regulations and the fight against illegal fishing practices’. He noted that the region had evolved significantly in terms of cooperation and collaboration between member countries, and thanked the FCWC and its technical partners for these efforts.
Duncan Copeland, Chief Analyst of Trygg Mat Tracking (TMT) and member of the West Africa Task Force Technical Team, said at the conference: ‘By actively sharing information, coordinating on fisheries controls and assisting each other, the FCWC Member States through the West Africa Task Force are demonstrating how effective cooperation can be to combat illegal fishing. The Technical Team are proud to supporting these efforts, and it is excellent that the Ministers have recognised and endorsed the initiative moving forward’.
The Technical Team supporting the West Africa Task Force is made up of the FCWC Secretariat, Trygg Mat Tracking (TMT), Stop Illegal Fishing (SIF) and NFDS. Funding is provided by Norad.