The fisheries sector of Guinea is of paramount importance to its society and economy, yet it is known to have considerable problems with illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. This project aims to reinforce the fisheries’ governance in Guinea and reduce IUU fishing activities in its Exclusive Economic Zone. This will be achieved through three main objectives:
Objective 1: Strengthen the national fisheries legal and regulatory framework through transformative policy reforms
Despite offences and penalties clearly integrated at the fisheries policy level, Guinean national legislation, especially at the IUU fisheries level, is insufficient, and the sanctions in place are showing low efficiency in reducing IUU fishing activities. This project will support the Guinean authorities in strengthening policy measures and reforms of the legal and regulatory framework, leading to better compliance with sub-regional and international accountability standards, strengthened regulatory and transparent licensing mechanisms, as well as increased abidance to laws and regulations through raised awareness.
Objective 2: Reduce IUU practices in Guinean marine fisheries by increasing local capacity and effective monitoring, control, surveillance and enforcement (MCSE)
This project will propose the application of a combination of available cost-effective surveillance technologies solutions to monitor and prevent IUU fishing. This will include components on AIS/VMS tracking and related technologies, potential of using UAVs and other remote sensing technologies, altogether constituting a complementary set of technological solutions for monitoring, control and surveillance capacities reinforcement against illegal fishing activities.
Objective 3: Improve the transparency and governance of the fisheries sector
Given the central importance of transparency in an effective governance of the fisheries sector, this project aims to promote it through several levers of actions and bring the country’s governance closer to the ten transparency principles. This is done through a support of policy enforcement via increased inter- and intra- government agency cooperation. The project will help strengthen the data collection and information system leading to better transparency and offering powerful long-term tools to decision makers and law enforcement officers.
Each of the three objectives will be accomplished through specific sets of outcomes leading to a long-term impact on the reduction of IUU fishing activities and strengthening fisheries governance.
