The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), Economic of West African States (ECOWAS) and the European Union have collaborated to boost fishery production.
This was made known during a meeting with experts to discuss and draw a road map for the utilisation of the results to adopt a sustainable management of the fisheries resources of the ECOWAS maritime domain.
The meeting tagged ‘Improved Regional Fisheries Governance in Western Africa (PESCAO)’ is funded by the European Union (EU), while FAO provides technical support.
FAO, Institut Agro, and the University of Portsmouth are leading the projects that make up the Component Three of PESCAO.
The FAO Representative in Nigeria and ECOWAS, Fred Kafeero, said the Fisheries Management and Resilience of Small Pelagics in West Africa project (GREPPAO) at the University of Portsmouth focuses on economic and social issues associated with critical small pelagic fisheries and communities in West Africa.
Kafeero, who was represented by the Head of FAO Nigeria, Northeast Office, Mr Al Hassan Cisse, said the state of fisheries in the ECOWAS region is complex and varies depending on the country and the sub-region.
He noted that fish which a source of income for millions of people faces enormous pressure and threats of overexploitation; illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing; poor management practices that cripples the progress towards sustainable fisheries; especially the Small-scale fisheries sector, the back-bone of fishing communities.