Liberia signs Fishery MoU with Senegal

• Published date: 10 February 2023
• Publication title: Business and Financial Times

The government of Liberia through the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority (NaFAA), on Monday, February 6, 2023 signed a Fishery Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government of Senegal through its Ministry of Fisheries and Maritime Economy.According to a dispatch from the Dakar, the MoU is aimed at promoting and facilitating cooperation in fisheries inspection and related activities to ensure effective jurisdiction and control over flagged fishing and related ships of the Parties with respect to their national laws and regulations and international conventions to prevent, deter and eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing.

At the same time, the MoU is also intended to serve in the exchange of information on related activities to strengthen fisheries governance.Making remarks before the signing ceremony in the Senegalese capital of Dakar, the Director General of NaFAA said signing and implementing the MoU will further strengthen efforts already being carried out in the sub-region to ensure that the Central Gulf of Guinea is safe and secure.

"For instance, through the PESCAO project we are implementing a regional Fisheries Monitoring Centre hosted in Ghana; there are joint sea patrols being conducted between Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana; and there are joint inspections of flagged fishing and fishing-related vessels calling into our ports."Mrs.

Emma Metieh Glassco disclosed that studies have shown fisheries resources are under considerable pressure globally and in the West African sub-region, particularly from high levels of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing for which the FAO Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA) was approved by the FAO Conference at its Thirty-sixth Session on 22nd November 2009."Today, we are here to take action and strengthen our collaborative roles in tackling this IUU menace by adopting stronger, positive actions that have been implemented among other regional countries".Mrs.

Glassco indicated that the MoU's objective is to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing through the implementation of effective port state measures, and thereby ensure the long-term conservation and sustainable use of living marine resources and marine ecosystems.extDG Glassco of Liberia and Hon.

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