By Hauwa Ali
The Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) has supplied technological and safety equipment to Nigeria during a visit to the newly established Fisheries Monitoring Centre (FMC) at the Federal Department of Fisheries (FDF) Lagos recently.
FCWC Secretary-General Seraphin Dedi delivered the equipment to the FDF Director Dr. Ime Umoh, in the presence of his fellow directors from other FCWC Member States, TM-Tracking’s Executive Director Duncan Copeland, national agency representatives, and directors of partner organizations, in a short ceremony, ensued by a demonstration of the operational Vessel Monitoring System.
The various pieces of equipment comprised videoconferencing devices, fisheries inspection and enforcement tools and safety equipment, radio communication devices, electronic tablets, and laptops.
They were delivered to the FCWC by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the European Union-funded Improved Regional Fisheries Governance in West Africa (PESCAO) project, and the West Africa Task Force (WATF) under the Fisheries Intelligence and MCS Support in West Africa project funded by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD).
The WATF is facilitated by the FCWC Secretariat and supported by a Technical Team that includes TM-Tracking (TMT) and Stop Illegal Fishing (SIF).
A similar supply of the equipment has occurredfor Benin, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Togo, and Liberia as part of the activities of the FCWC to build Member States’ capacity to overcome meeting cancellation and postponement challenges that COVID-19 presented, and to preserve the momentum of existing cooperation and collaboration. The videoconferencing equipment will now permit virtual meetings to be held between participants irrespective of their geographical location if there is reliable internet. The radio communication equipment will now increase efficiency and effectiveness by enabling real-time and discrete communication between enforcement agents during inspections and or patrols.
