West African Coastal Nations Talk On Sustainable Tuna Policies ff

Source: In Profile Daily

The Bureau of National Fisheries at the Ministry of Agriculture will, from October 30-31, 2012, host a meeting on Regional Collaboration for Monitoring, Control & Surveillance (MCS) of the fishery sector to foster a regional approach and integration of actions in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.  The meeting is being supported by the West African Regional Fisheries Project (WARFP) in Liberia.

Participants will come in from Sierra Leone, Ghana and Cote d’Ivoire, as well as international and intergovernmental organizations working in the sector.

The meeting will be immediately followed by a two-day international consultation aimed at ensuring a Sustainable Tuna Fishery in the West African Coastal States. WARFP Liberia Coordinator, Dr. Lawrence Braimah says “the consultation is geared towards improving management of tuna resources in the region, and to begin the process of determining a regional approach to negotiating the conditions of access for tuna purse seine vessels wishing to fish in Liberia, Sierra Leone and the wider region.”

Dr. Braimah added that “a highlight of this meeting will be a furtherance of the development of agreements for the access of tuna vessels to fish in national fisheries waters of Liberia and Sierra Leone, supported by international tuna experts.”

Representatives of the major tuna associations in the region are attending to work towards a finalization of these agreements with both countries, looking towards the 2013 fishing season and beyond.

WARFP is funded by the World Bank and the Global Environmental Facility Fund to improve the livelihood of fishing communities in Liberia by improving governance in the sector and improving the added value of the fishing folks.