December 15, 2021, Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire: Today The Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) begins the 13th session of its Conference of Ministers meeting from 15 – 17 December 2021 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, in-person and online.
The Ministers of the six FCWC Member States (Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Togo) or their representatives will convene for this year’s meeting organized on the theme “Using innovative technology to increase oversight of safe, fair and legal fishing.”
The Ministerial Conference on the 17 December 2021 will be preceded by a two-day Advisory and Consultative Session (ACC) from 15 -16 December 2021, that convenes the directors of fisheries ministries and the heads of MCS to deliberate on the theme, review working documents and prepare the recommendations for the Ministers to adopt.
“We selected a technology-focused theme for 2022 because the region and our partners have demonstrated how technology can be innovatively used to surmount the challenges that the COVID-19 presents to our activities. This is our first in-person Conference of Ministers since COVID-19 struck, so we are eager to use this opportunity to celebrate the resilience that our region and partners have shown, and to further explore the ways technology can be used to improve our fisheries,” said FCWC Secretary-General, Seraphin Dedi.
Key discussions this year will include the workplan of the regional working group on aquaculture; the review of the protocols for the pilot joint patrol and the region al observer programs; the standard operating protocols (SOPs) for the Regional Monitoring Control and Surveillance Centre (RMCSC); and the adoption of a regional closed season.
The Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) is an intergovernmental body established in 2007, with a Secretariat hosted in Tema, Ghana. The FCWC facilitates cooperation in fisheries management between its member countries: Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, Benin, and Nigeria. The countries have several shared fish stocks and identified the need for cooperation and shared management of these resources.
For further information, please visit www.fcwc-fish.org
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