Journalists equipped on the fight against IUU fishing in Guinea

As part of the project “Strengthening fisheries governance in Guinea”, the Ministry of Fisheries and Maritime Economy in collaboration with the Regional Partnership for the Conservation of the Coastal and Marine Zone in West Africa (PRCM), organized from September 19 to 20, 2023 in Conakry, a training workshop for journalists for the organization of campaigns on the impacts of IUU fishing and illegal forms of fishing in through traditional media and social networks targeting fishing communities.

Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is a serious global problem and is one of the main obstacles to sustainable resource management today. It represents a significant loss of income, particularly for developing countries where dependence is strong on nutritional food, livelihoods and community income.

Strengthen the capacities of journalists

This 2-day workshop aims to contribute to building the capacities of media professionals for better treatment of themes related to fishing in general and the negative impacts of IUU fishing on national economies in particular.

Closing the workshop on behalf of the Minister of Fisheries and Maritime Economy, Mr. Ismaël Keita, coordinator of the Fisheries Governance project, invited everyone to get involved in this project for the general interest.

<< For 2 days, you had to learn about IUU fishing, its contours, the means to fight against this scourge but also you are equipped with media coverage, research, design, journalistic writing to better produce and broadcast with the aim of reaching the target population so that they understand and so that they take charge of this situation which concerns us all. IUU fishing is a scourge that ruins communities and weakens our contributions to the development of our sector >>, he said.

Several themes developed

During this workshop, themes relating to the presentation of the “Strengthening fisheries governance in Guinea” project and its objectives; the Presentation on IUU fishing (the different types of IUU fishing in the world, the sub-region and in Guinea, the impacts of IUU fishing on the economy in West Africa: the case of Guinea; international instruments relating to fishing and the role of States in the elimination of illegal, undeclared and unregulated fishing; media coverage of issues on fishing: the investigation; media coverage of IUU fishing by the media for good communication (TV, Radio, information site), were discussed by the participants.

“We are sufficiently equipped on the subjects of IUU fishing, which is undeclared illegal fishing. We learned a lot through the speakers and the discussions around this meeting. At the end of this workshop we will try to get much more involved in communicating on the issue, informing everyone, highlighting the impact of IUU fishing through reports, surveys and investigations.said Ibrahima Camara, participating journalist.

Some recommendations raised

In order to amplify and provide good information, the participants did not fail to make some recommendations, among others: The multiplication of such meetings for journalists; Initiate field visits with journalists; and support the production of investigation subjects on IUU fishing.

M’mah Bangoura