The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)’s Regional Office for Africa and the Fishery Committee for the Eastern Central Atlantic (CECAF) have stepped up support to the Fishery Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) by providing laptops for fisheries data analysis.   

At a COVID-safe ceremony at the FCWC Secretariat in Tema, Ghana, six laptops were provided to the FCWC to support the capture, analysis and reporting on fisheries data in Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Togo.

Funded by FAO through a Technical Cooperation Programme (TCP), the initiative is part of FAO’s broader work with CECAF to support regional institutions to better transform fisheries recommendations into policy action and to improve artisanal fisheries’ data frameworks across the CECAF region.

“The provision of the devices will support beneficiary countries to capture and analyse catch data on vessels, landings sites and related fishing activities which will strengthen our understanding of capture fisheries in the region,” Ndiaga Gueye, FAO Senior Fishery and Aquaculture Officer and Secretary of CECAF, said. “With this knowledge, countries can better monitor illegal fishing and the heath of key fish stocks,” he said.

The General Secretary of the FCWC, Séraphin Dedi, welcomed the laptops and the ongoing partnership between FAO, CECAF and the FCWC.

Fisheries vital for food security

Fisheries are vital to food security and national economies in many African coastal countries. Seafood is the main source of protein for around a quarter of the population in West Africa and the fishing sector employs more than seven million people in the region.

CECAF is a statutory body of FAO, and was founded in 1967 with the aim of promoting sustainable use of marine living resources.