West and Central Africa Regional Consultation for developing a regional small-scale fisheries action plan for the implementation of the SSF Guidelines within the African Union policy framework

"The development of voluntary guidelines to ensure the sustainability of small-scale fisheries and their enhancement in a food security context are initiatives that secure the sustainable use of resources for all the small-scale fish workers and their communities," said Babacar Diop, an officer of the Senegalese Ministry of Fisheries and Maritime Economy. Speaking at the official opening of the three-day meeting, Babacar Diop stressed the importance of developing an action plan to implement the SSF Guidelines.

The regional consultation workshop gathered West and Central African coastal countries that are members of the Fishery Committee for the Eastern Atlantic (CECAF)  to discuss and agree on actions needed for securing sustainable small-scale fisheries within the context of existing regional and international policy frameworks. The 3-day consultation was convened by FAO in collaboration with the African Union Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) in collaboration with the ECOWAS Commission and the FIRST project. It brought together 70 participants, including government representatives from 19 CECAF member countries. The Regional Consultation was followed by the 5^th meeting of the CECAF Artisanal Working Group on 26-27 July 2018.

The regional consultation was covered in the news by lesoleil, dakaractu, lactuacho.com, leQuotidien, LeuzTV, RadioTradeFM, DevInfos, APS, ApaNews and VivAfrik.