Recommendations for fair and transparent fisheries agreements

In November 2019, BirdLife Europe & Central Asia, the Coalition for Fair Fisheries Agreements (CFFA) and WWF, together with African partners including the National Environmental Advocacy Coalition (NEAC), met in Brussels for a series of discussions. The meeting focused on how to make fisheries agreements between the European Union and coastal states in East and West Africa truly fair and sustainable. On the basis of the results of these discussions, the organisations make the following recommendations on the future of these fisheries agreements. Four main points were addressed: transparency, compliance with European obligations, and improvement of scientific knowledge and revision of the objectives on financial support.

Madagascar has 4,500 km of coastline and the fishing sector has great potential for the economy of the Big Island. For Lovasoa Dresy, WWF Fisheries Officer, "these recommendations are important for Madagascar to ensure that future agreements contribute to better fisheries governance at the national level and that fishers' communities can also benefit from them in a concrete way. We call for the same principles to be applied not only to all fisheries agreements entered into by Madagascar but also in the granting of licences, particularly those of Asian countries.” To achieve this, WWF supports fishers' communities to participate more fully in decision-making processes and supports civil society organizations to promote the implementation of these recommendations. “These recommendations should lead to further improvements in fisheries management and governance in Madagascar, so that stocks are not harmed, equity is improved, and benefits accrue to the improved management of these resources. " says Rémi Ratsimbazafy, a marine biodiversity expert at WWF.
 
Our fisheries resources are increasingly in demand and marine habitats are facing threats from climate change and human activities. This common position is a further step towards good governance of our marine resources.