Ghost Fishing is a phenomenon many folks don’t know about but not to worry, the Fishing Net Gains West Africa Conference is almost here.
The Fishing Net Gains West Africa was born out of our affiliation with the Global Ghost Gear Initiative (GGGI) and has received far reaching support from various international partners such as the Joanna Toole Foundation(JTF), Oceans Conservancy(OC), Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) Canada, the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs(DEFRA) United Kingdom, etc.
As part of the strategies for achieving the project’s objectives, SOFER Initiative is organizing a Virtual Conference themed “Marine Litter and the African Coasts Conference 2022: Collaborations for Sustainable Fisheries and Oceans in Africa”, which is slated to hold on the 16th and 17th of February 2022.
The conference will host key stakeholders in the fisheries, maritime and environmental management sector in Nigeria and other West African Countries such as Federal and State Government, Environmental NGOs, Oil Companies, Divers, Artisanal Fishermen, Fishing Community Leaders, Trawling Companies, Academia etc., together with our aforementioned international partners.
The conference will be addressing prevalent marine and environmental issues such as Ghost Fishing, marine litter, loss in biodiversity, amongst others.
Discussions and resolutions from the conference will guide policy recommendation, regulations and standards as well as inform a holistic reform of all the sectors involved.
Objectives
- Create awareness about ghost gears and its impacts on the African coast
- Improve the livelihood of coastal communities along the coast of West Africa
- Promote information sharing on hazardous fishing areas prone to challenges of ghost gears
- Recommend policies and measures for effective waste management at sea ports and jetties
- Support actions towards the establishment of Marine Protected Areas MPAs around the coast of Africa
- Initiate and promote the development of ghost gear dive community in Africa
- Recommend measures to achieve sustainable fishing