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| CECAF | |
|---|---|
| Name | CECAF |
| Type | Regional fisheries body |
| Region served | Eastern Central Atlantic |
| Parent organization | Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations |
CECAF
CECAF is the Faeroese acronym for the FAO's regional fisheries body covering the Eastern Central Atlantic; it coordinates fisheries assessment, management advice, and conservation measures among coastal and island states. The committee convenes representatives from member nations, technical experts, and intergovernmental organizations to address stock status, bycatch, artisanal and industrial fisheries, and compliance with international agreements.
CECAF operates as a regional advisory forum linked to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and engages with entities such as the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, the North East Atlantic Fisheries Commission, and the African Union. Member delegations include ministers and commissioners from states like Nigeria, Senegal, Ghana, Mauritania, Angola, Cape Verde, Morocco, Cabo Verde, and Sao Tome and Principe. Scientific input is provided by laboratories and institutes including the Institut Mauritanien de Recherches Océanographiques et des Pêches, the Institut Sénégalais de Recherches Agricoles, Centre de Recherche Océanographiques de Guinée, and universities such as Université Cheikh Anta Diop and University of Cape Coast.
CECAF traces its origins to post-war FAO regionalization efforts and successive technical committees including the FAO Fisheries Committee for the Eastern Central Atlantic and ad hoc working groups on tuna and demersal stocks. Key historical interactions involved cooperation with United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea processes, engagement with the UNCLOS negotiations, and adaptation to frameworks established by Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment legacies. Important milestones include integration of data-sharing protocols from projects funded by the European Union and bilateral technical assistance from Japan and Norway. Crisis responses have linked CECAF deliberations to emergency measures invoked during events like the 1998 West African drought impacts on coastal communities and the 2008 global financial crisis effects on fleet operations.
CECAF's geographic remit spans the Eastern Central Atlantic including the continental shelves and offshore waters of West and Central African states from Morocco to Angola, island groups such as the Canary Islands, Madeira, Cape Verde, Azores, Sao Tome and Principe, and overseas territories like Ceuta and Melilla. Member representation involves national fisheries ministries from Ivory Coast, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau, The Gambia, Benin, Togo, Equatorial Guinea, Cabo Verde, and Guinea. Regional economic communities and organizations linked to CECAF include Economic Community of West African States, Economic Community of Central African States, and Community of Portuguese Language Countries for lusophone cooperation. Observers and partners include World Wide Fund for Nature, BirdLife International, Ocean Conservancy, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
CECAF discussions address multispecies fisheries such as small pelagics (e.g., Sardinella aurita fisheries exploited by fleets from Spain, Portugal, France, and Senegal), demersal trawl fisheries targeting species linked to markets in Japan and South Korea, and migratory tuna fisheries coordinated with International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas. Conservation measures debated include seasonal closures modeled after Moratoria on Tropical Tunas, gear restrictions related to bycatch of species listed under CITES and Convention on Migratory Species, spatial measures mirroring marine protected areas declared by states like Morocco and Guinea-Bissau, and catch limits influenced by assessments from ICES-style stock evaluation methods. Efforts also intersect with initiatives by Food and Agriculture Organization instruments like the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries and the Port State Measures Agreement.
Scientific advice in CECAF draws on stock assessment expertise from regional laboratories, modeling groups, and international centers such as the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea and the Regional Fisheries Bodies Secretariat. Data sources include national landing statistics submitted by ministries in Senegal and Ghana, observer programs supported by the European Union and Japan International Cooperation Agency, and satellite-based monitoring partnerships with European Space Agency and National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Biological sampling is conducted by institutions like the Institut de Recherche pour le Développement and the Centro Oceanográfico de Vigo, while socioeconomic studies have been produced in collaboration with World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and United Nations Development Programme initiatives.
CECAF functions through FAO governance structures and operates under mandates provided by FAO conferences and regional agreements, interacting with legal instruments such as UNCLOS, the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement, and commitments under the Sustainable Development Goals adopted at the United Nations General Assembly. Its governance includes periodic sessions with procedural ties to FAO Council resolutions, technical advisory panels, and intersessional working groups. Compliance mechanisms are primarily diplomatic and cooperative, involving capacity-building via FAO projects, technical assistance from Norway and European Union programs, and coordination with enforcement efforts by national coast guards and navies of states like Mauritania and Nigeria.
CECAF has faced criticism over perceived inadequacies in enforcement against IUU fishing, disputes over allocation of quotas involving distant-water fishing fleets from China, Russia, and South Korea, and tensions between artisanal fishers represented by organizations such as Small-Scale Fisheries Organizations and industrial operators tied to multinational companies headquartered in Spain and Portugal. Transparency concerns have been raised in academic critiques from researchers at University of Cape Town and Université Cheikh Anta Diop, while civil society campaigns by Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth have pressured members over bycatch of species protected under CITES and impacts on sea turtle populations monitored by IUCN assessments. Disputes over marine boundaries echo cases adjudicated by tribunals such as the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea and bilateral negotiations exemplified by delimitation talks between Mauritania and Senegal.
Category:Regional fisheries management organizations