New study calls for a 60 percent reduction in fishing of small pelagic species off the coast of Northwest Africa

Published Dec 11, 2024

Tridge summary

A study by the Food and Agriculture Organization’s Fishery Committee for the Eastern Central Atlantic (CECAF) has identified overexploitation of small pelagic resources off Northwest Africa's coast, with sardine, round sardinella, flat sardinella, Atlantic horse mackerel, and ethmalosa stocks experiencing alarming declines. To address this, CECAF suggests measures like biological rest, zoning, minimum size limits, and capacity management, and recommends a 60% reduction in fishing effort. The Coalition for Fair Fisheries Arrangements (CFFA) has also issued a policy brief ahead of an E.U.-Mauritania committee meeting, calling for better payment and training for fishery observers, stricter compliance with fisheries agreements, and restrictions on bycatch, particularly octopus, to protect the rights of small-scale Mauritanian fishers.

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Original content

A recent study conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organization’s Fishery Committee for the Eastern Central Atlantic (CECAF) has found that small pelagic resources off the coast of Northwest Africa are heavily overexploited.The report urges several action items to combat the issue, "such as biological rest, zoning, setting minimum sizes, and capacity management to improve the resilience of these resources in the context of climate change."The report specifically described the state of sardine, round sardinella, flat sardinella, Atlantic horse mackerel, and ethmalosa stocks as alarming and suggested a 60 percent reduction in fishing effort to decrease overexploitation of these species.Drawing on the CECAF research, the Coalition for Fair Fisheries Arrangements (CFFA) produced a policy brief in relation to the issue. The group then presented this brief in advance of a December meeting of the E.U.-Mauritania Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Joint Committee, which included ...

Source: Seafoodsource