Assessment of fish stocks in Benin’s maritime waters: the government is working to facilitate decision-making on fisheries governance
A campaign to assess fish stocks in Benin’s maritime waters was officially launched on Thursday 15 February 2024 at the Port Autonome de Cotonou. The operation will be conducted over a two-week period by experts from Morocco’s Institut National de Recherche Halieutique and Beninese scientists, on board the Moroccan research vessel AL HASSAN AL MARRAKCHI.
This campaign is the result of the Memorandum of Understanding signed on 30 January 2023 in Agadir between Morocco and Benin, represented respectively by Sadiki Mohamed, Moroccan Minister of Agriculture, Maritime Fishing, Rural Development and Water and Forests, and Gaston Cossi Dossouhoui, Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fishing. The Ministerial Conference on fisheries cooperation among African States bordering the Atlantic Ocean (ATLAFCO) marked the signing of a major agreement between the two countries on 7 November 2023 in Casablanca.
For the Moroccan Minister, this is a large-scale initiative that is taking shape at the request of the Beninese authorities, and represents a mutually beneficial partnership. According to Sadiki Mohamed, this initiative forms part of the overall framework of South-South cooperation. The implementation of this operation, he added, reflects the firm will shared by the two countries to take the path of sustainable fisheries resources and a sustainable blue economy.
“Fisheries resources represent a global economic and social challenge for the well-being and survival of our communities (…). Today’s ceremony is a programme for the sustainable management of our fisheries resources, which requires knowledge of the available potential and the implementation of strategies for their rational use (…). It is an operation of crucial importance in facilitating decision-making for the governance of fisheries, which requires qualified scientific assistance and adequate logistical resources”, emphasised Minister Gaston Cossi DOSSOUHOUI, who welcomed the rapid implementation of the Memorandum.
The ceremony was attended by Benin’s Minister of Higher Education and Scientific Research, Mrs Éléonore YAYI LADEKAN, Sidi Tiémoko TOURÉ, Côte d’Ivoire’s Minister of Animal and Fisheries Resources and current President of the Ministerial Conference on fisheries cooperation among African States bordering the Atlantic Ocean (ATLAFCO), the Moroccan Ambassador to Benin, the Maritime Prefect and the Prefects of the Atlantic and Coastal regions.
Gouvernement de la République du Bénin
