This document is the final report of the Twenty-third Session of the Fishery Committee for the Eastern Central Atlantic (CECAF), which was held in Monrovia, Liberia from 11 to 14 July 2023. Under the theme “Toward practical solutions to strengthen fisheries management and sustainability in CECAF region”, the major topics discussed were: (i) EAF-Nansen Programme Steering Committee Meeting; (ii) follow-up of the CECAF Cost and Benefit Analysis; (iii) discussion of the outcomes of the Ninth session of the Scientific Sub-Committee; (v) adoption of the Ninth Scientific Sub-Committee recommendations; (vi) and discussion and adoption of the next inter-session work plan.

Le présent document constitue le rapport final de la vingt-troisième session du Comité des pêches pour l'Atlantique Centre-Est (COPACE), qui s'est tenue à Monrovia, au Libéria, du 11 au 14 juillet 2023. Sous le thème «Vers des solutions pratiques pour renforcer la gestion et la durabilité des pêches dans la région du COPACE», les principaux sujets abordés ont été: (i) la réunion du comité de pilotage du programme EAF-Nansen; (ii) le suivi de l'analyse des coûts et bénéfices du COPACE; (iii) la discussion des résultats de la neuvième session du Sous-Comité scientifique; (v) l'adoption des recommandations de la neuvième session du Sous-Comité scientifique; (vi) et la discussion et l'adoption du prochain plan de travail intersession.

This document is a technical document of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for the Fishery Committee for the Eastern Central Atlantic (CECAF) regional fishery advisory body. With financial support from the European Union’s “Improving Fisheries Governance in Western Africa” (PESCAO) programme and inputs from the CECAF Artisanal Fisheries Working Group (AFWG) the report, “Characterization of the marine small-scale fisheries in the Fishery Committee for the Eastern Central Atlantic region” has been prepared. Building on outcomes of the Illuminating Hidden Harvests (IHH) study that examined a total of 71 and 81 fishing units in two successive phases of the IHH study. The AFWG examined the matrix tool that aims to improve the regional understanding of small-scale fisheries in the CECAF region and how this approach can be adjusted to facilitate targeted capacity-building measures for the sector. Overall, in the framework of FAO CECAF and the CECAF AFWG, the resulting analytical work presents a tool to progress regional understanding and the sustainable management of artisanal fisheries in the Eastern Central Atlantic.

The report provides the outcomes of series of national workshops organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Fishery Committee for the Eastern Central Atlantic (CECAF) and the Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC), under the project “Capacity Building on Data Collection and Management for Member States.” Conducted between 28 April and 5 July 2021, the workshops took place in Nigeria, Benin, Togo, Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Liberia, with the support of FAO’s Regional Office for Africa (RAF), national FAO country offices, and technical inputs from FAO’s Fisheries and Resources Monitoring System (FIRMS) team. The primary objective of these workshops was to strengthen and harmonize fisheries data collection and reporting systems across FCWC member states. Key outcomes included a diagnostic of current fisheries reporting practices, identification of national capacities and gaps in both industrial and small-scale fisheries data, and prioritization of actions to align national data systems with FCWC, CECAF, and FAO reporting standards to improve data collection and collaboration across the FCWC subregion.

Ce résumé fournit les résultats préliminaires, non encore validés par le sous-comité scientifique (SCS) du Comité des Pêches pour L’Atlantique Centre-Est (COPACE), du groupe de travail sur l'évaluation des ressources démersales au large de l'Afrique du Nord-Ouest qui s'est tenu à Agadir, Maroc, du 4 au 12 juin 2024.

Ce document rend compte de la septième réunion du Groupe de travail sur les pêches artisanales (GTPA) du Comité des pêches pour l'Atlantique Centre-Est (COPACE), tenue du 15–17 juin 2023 à Dakar, Sénégal. Avec le soutien du Programme de l’Union Européenne «Amélioration de la gouvernance régionale des pêches en Afrique de l’Ouest» (PESCAO), la réunion a été organisée par le Secrétariat du COPACE, basé à Accra, au Bureau régional de la FAO pour l’Afrique (FAO RAF).