IPNews –<\/strong> <\/em>The Government of Liberia through the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority (NaFAA), Monday, February 6, 2023, signed a Fishery Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the government and people of the Republic of Senegal through its Ministry of Fisheries and Maritime Economy.<\/p>\n

According to a dispatch from the Dakar, the MoU is to promote and facilitate 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.<\/p>\n

At the same time, the MoU is also intended to serve for the exchange of information on related activities to strengthen fisheries governance.<\/p>\n

Making remarks before the signing ceremony in the Senegalese capital Dakar, the Director General of NaFAA said the signing and implementation of the MoU will further strengthen the efforts that are already being carried out in the sub-region to ensure that the Central Gulf of Guinea is safe and secure.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor instance, through the PESCAO project, we are implementing a regional Fisheries Monitoring Center hosted in Ghana; there are joint sea patrols being conducted between Cote d\u2019Ivoire and Ghana; and there are joint inspections of flagged fishing and fishing related vessel calling into our ports\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n

Mrs. Emma Metieh Glassco disclosed that studies have shown that the 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.<\/p>\n