Who does what in our waters?

In the field of fisheries and aquaculture alone, more than forty institutions overlap on the African continent, with generally laudable intentions, but problematic efficiency. Their anchorage and rationalisation were the topic of a four-days cogitation, at the end of October in Rabat, on the occasion of the fifth general assembly of APRIFAAS (African Platform for Regional Institutions in Fisheries, Aquaculture and Aquatic Systems). The meeting was hosted by the Ministerial Conference for Fisheries Cooperation among African States bordering the Atlantic Ocean (ATLAFCO), which has held the presidency of the platform since April 2022.

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West Africa is Losing $3.3 Billion Annually

The cost to Africans for IUU fishing in Africa’s coastal waters is astronomical. Sub-Saharan countries in western Africa are losing a significant portion of their GDP to IUU fishing. Researchers estimate that sub-Saharan countries in West Africa are losing between $2.3 and $3.3 billion annually to IUU fishing, not including the value-add of the catch, while a minimal amount of $13 million is recovered through the  Monitoring, Control, and Surveillance (MCS) system.

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Sub-Sahara Africa is at Extreme Risk of Further Poverty and Poor Nutritional HealthSchool-age Boy Selling Fish in Elmina.           Photo: Allieu M. Shaw

By Allieu M. Shaw Africa is undoubtedly endowed with vast marine resources and mineral wealth sufficient to feed its people for many generations, yet many…

View More Sub-Sahara Africa is at Extreme Risk of Further Poverty and Poor Nutritional HealthSchool-age Boy Selling Fish in Elmina.           Photo: Allieu M. Shaw

Create conducive environment for women participation in fishery

The Executive Secretary of the Ministerial Conference on Fisheries Cooperation among African States Bordering the Atlantic Ocean (ATLAFCO), Mr Abdelouahed Benabbbou, has called on governments in the region to provide conducive conditions and frameworks that promote the active involvement of women in the fisheries sector.

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The new EU-Mauritania agreement: towards a sustainable management of small pelagics in West Africa?

At the end of July 2021, the European Commission concluded the negotiations for a new sustainable fisheries partnership agreement (SFPA) with Mauritania for a period of 6 years, tacitly renewable. On the same day, the protocol of this new agreement was signed. It entered into provisional application on 16 November 2021.

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