Experts from ECOWAS Member States and Commission, as well as regional organizations dealing with environmental and fisheries issues, are meeting from 18 to 21 March 2025 in Abidjan, Republic of Côte d’Ivoire, to discuss the issue of Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing (IUU) in West Africa. Initiated by the ECOWAS Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security, this regional meeting aims to establish a regional cooperation framework to improve the sustainable and integrated use of ocean resources in West Africa, by stimulating inclusive economic growth through a concerted and effective regional fight against IUU.
Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing is a major scourge that undermines stock management efforts, exacerbates overfishing, destroys marine habitats, and degrades the coastal environment. Similarly, estimates indicate that up to 40% of catches in parts of the Gulf of Guinea may be illegal, and IUU fishing costs the economies of countries in the region billions of dollars each year. The region is estimated to lose between $2.3 billion and $9.4 billion annually, according to a Financial Transparency Coalition report cited in the January 2024 Africa Defense Forum.
Despite the efforts undertaken by ECOWAS through the adoption of two documents, notably the Integrated Maritime Strategy (SMIC) of 2014 and the Detailed Strategic Framework for the Development of a Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture Sector of 2020, the problem of IUU fishing remains current.
In order to find a solution to this scourge through better coordination of the efforts of Member States, the Authority of Heads of State and Government, at its 65th Ordinary Session, held in Abuja in July 2024, instructed the ECOWAS Commission to put in place a strengthened framework for the fight against IUU fishing and to initiate discussions with external partners with a view to combating IUU fishing and the dumping of toxic materials associated with it in the regional maritime domain.
This is the rationale for the Abidjan meeting, which will be attended by experts from member states’ maritime, fisheries, environmental, and maritime affairs departments.
The meeting will also be attended by ECOWAS Technical Departments and Directorates, including Peacekeeping and Regional Security, Agriculture and Environment, as well as regional organizations such as the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU), the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Fisheries Committee of the West Central Gulf of Guinea, and the Senegalese Fisheries Commissions.
During the 3 days of consultation, the participants will have to take stock of the fight against IUU fishing in each Member State in collaboration with the Sub-Regional Fisheries Commissions; and develop a roadmap to facilitate the harmonization of national fisheries laws, in particular the fight against illegal fishing which will take into account, among other things, the cooperation mechanism for sharing information, the framework for collaboration on the pooling of financial and human resources, ways 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 the collection of statistics.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).
