The CCLME project steering committee met for its second ordinary meeting.

The meeting of the steering committee of the project "Towards the Sustainable Management of the Canary Current Large Marine Ecosystem (CCLME) - initial support to the implementation of the Strategic Action Program (SAP)" was held on November 23 and 24, 2022 in hybrid at the hotel Le Phenix in Somone, Senegal. It was attended by about twenty participants, including representatives of the seven countries covered by the project (Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Cabo Verde), the Lead Technical Officer (LTO) of the project, two representatives of the EAF Nansen program, a representative of the Instituto Español de Oceanografia (IEO) a representative of the Coastal Fisheries Initiative project, two representatives of the PRCM, a representative of the African Union's Bureau of Animal Resources (AU-IBAR), a representative of the Fishery Committee for the Central Eastern Atlantic (CECAF) and the Regional Coordination Unit (RCU) of the CCLME project.

The following conclusions and recommendations were made during this second meeting of the CCLME Steering Committee which:

-        Commends the CCLME Regional Coordination Unit for the successful organization of this second meeting of the steering committee of the said project.

-        Requests the RCU to finalize the preparation and submission of the survey for the extension of the MSP implementation phase by 9 months without additional costs from June 30, 2023.

-        Strongly encourages the URC to accelerate the recruitment, as soon as possible, of consultants for the implementation of the activities identified and validated in the 2023 annual work plan.

-        Requests the RCU to post relevant reports and publications from the first phase of the CCLME on the website to allow the country to learn about the history of the project.

-        Urges countries and CCLME partners to fill out the necessary information and data collection forms to be put on the communication materials (website and visuals), update and share country information on the CCLME website (address, links, contacts) as well as produce a bi-annual newsletter.

-        Requests the creation of an informal exchange group (WhatsApp group) for the Steering Committee to support communication and information sharing among its members.

-        Requests to share a detailed schedule of activities with the Focal Points and National Technical Coordinators (responsible, expected results, budget, ...), for a better coordination and facilitation of the implementation of the process at the country level.

-        Requests that the CCLME Gender Strategy take into account the political and socio-economic contexts of the marine and coastal environment and the sectors of activity where women are active (economy, trade, fishing, processing) as well as research and innovation in the countries.

-        Requests to maintain the same CCLME governance bodies (Copil, URC, CCC) for the Regional Consortium and the partnership agreements being developed.

-        Requests that a socio-economic component be included in the terms of reference of the CCLME Ecosystem Analysis and Planning Working Group and encourages the appointment of members from research institutions.

-        Encourages the RCU to accelerate the development of the Project Identification Form (PIF), to enable countries to mobilize funding at the national level (country co-financing) as well as from CCLME partners.

-        After amendment, the Steering Committee approved the annual work plan of the CCLME project.

-        The Steering Committee asked the RCU to propose a date and place for the next Steering Committee meeting.