Considering the lack of basic data on catch and catch/effort and the impossibility which results from this situation to properly assess the stock potentials and their state of exploitation, the group made the following recommendations:
1. To enable more reliable and accurate answers to be given on the size of demersal fish stocks as well as on their level of exploitation, data on catch and effort must be submitted on timely basis with the breakdown by species and areas of fishing recommended by CECAF. The CECAF statistical system and extent to which national statistics diverge from it are described by M. Ansa-Emmim and D. Levi in the CECAF/ECAF Series 75/2. Special attention should be given to foreign fleet operating in the whole northern zone of CECAF as well as the artisanal fisheries.2. In view of the problems encountered by the group in estimating the size of the trawl fleet in the area and also identifying regulations in force in the various demersal fisheries, the group strongly requested the CECAF Project to collect from the various coastal countries, information on the fisheries regulations, specifically those on mesh sizes and on the size of foreign fleets allowed to operate under current fishing agreements.
Action should be taken at national level to collect actual mesh sizes being used and to check how these diverge from the regulation in force. It is expected that the CECAF Project will engage a consultant for this exercise.
3. Data available show that the trigger fish Balistes capriscus is now widely distributed in the Gulf of Guinea. The group therefore recommended that prompt action should be taken to study the biology and ecology of this species. As a first step, the biomass should be determined. Investigations should also be undertaken to determine in what areas this species now occurs and in what quantities.
4. In view of the many gaps existing in the data used for stock assessment, it is recommended that the CECAF Project convene another working party within two years. It is expected that before the end of that period, the data basis would have sufficiently improved to enable substantial progress in the stock appraisal. For that purpose, the CECAF Project should continue to promote the collection of better data in the area and assist coastal countries in this vital task.
