Du 18 au 21 mars 2025, Abidjan, Republic of Côte d'Ivoire, serves as a framework for around fifty experts from ECOWAS Member States and the Commission, as well as regional organizations dealing with issues of protection of environment and fishing. Discussions focus on the issue of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU fishing) in West Africa

During the 3 days of consultation, participants will have to take stock of the fight against IUU fishing in each Member State in collaboration with the Sub-Regional Fisheries Commissions. They should develop a road map to facilitate the harmonization of national fisheries laws, in particular the fight against illegal fishing, which will take into account, “the cooperative mechanism for sharing information, the framework for collaboration on the sharing of financial and human resources, the means to increase the financial resources allocated to the fight against illegal fishing, the establishment of... “a platform for sharing experiences and lessons learned to disseminate good practices in the region and the harmonization of statistical collection”. According to Ambassador Abdel-Fatau MUSAH, ECOWAS Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security, “Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing remains widespread in our region, causing an estimated loss of over 2 billion dollars per year, which has a negative impact on the livelihoods and security of

A en croire Minister Sidi Tiémoko TOURÉ, the maritime domain of ECOWAS member states, one of the most biodiverse maritime areas in the world, constitutes an essential pillar for food security and livelihoods of millions of people.

A noter que les travaux de cette meetings follow a recommendation of the Conference of Heads of State and Government which, during its 65th Ordinary Session, held in Abuja in July 2024, directed the ECOWAS Commission to put in place a strengthened framework to combat IUU fishing and engage in discussions with external partners in order to combat IUU fishing and the dumping of associated toxic materials in the regional maritime domain