Lomé hosts the Fishery Committee for the Eastern Central Atlantic Working Group to advance sustainable small-scale fisheries in West Africa
©FAO
Togo hosted the eighth meeting of the Small-Scale Fisheries Working Group of the Fishery Committee for the Eastern Central Atlantic (CECAF), bringing together experts, government representatives, and technical and financial partners from around twenty African countries to strengthen the sustainable management of small-scale fisheries across the region.
Held from 22 to 26 June in Lomé, the meeting builds on the previous session organized in Dakar, Senegal, in 2023. It provides a platform for participants to discuss shared priorities, review progress, and develop strategies to improve fisheries management while supporting food security and livelihoods.
Despite its essential role in food systems and local economies, the small-scale fisheries sector is under increasing pressure. Across the CECAF region, only 47.4 percent of assessed fish stocks are currently exploited at biologically sustainable levels, while more than half are overexploited, highlighting the need for urgent and coordinated action.
In Togo, small-scale fisheries account for between 70 and 80 percent of national fish production. Fishing is mainly carried out by artisanal fishers operating wooden canoes fitted with outboard motors. Marine, inland, lagoon and lake fisheries together produce nearly 20,000 tonnes of fish annually, around 90 percent of which is processed through smoking, drying or frying before reaching local markets.
Opening the meeting, Kossi OKE, Administrative Officer at FAO Togo, highlighted the strategic importance of the CECAF Small-Scale Fisheries Working Group as a unique platform for knowledge exchange and regional cooperation, noting that “this eighth session, building on the work initiated in Dakar in 2023, will enable us to move forward on shared priority areas.”
The meeting is organized by Togo's Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Animal Resources and Food Sovereignty, with the support of the CECAF Secretariat of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the European Union-funded West Africa Sustainable Ocean Programme (WASOP).
For Dr Domtani Ali, Director of Fisheries Production at the Ministry, ensuring the sustainability of fish stocks has become a national priority, emphasizing that “in terms of food security, we must take measures to ensure that our fish stocks remain sustainable so that they continue to support both food security and the incomes of those engaged in small-scale fisheries.”
During the week, participants reviewed and adopted the Working Group’s 2026–2028 work plan, discussed proposed amendments to its terms of reference, and updated the characterization of small-scale fisheries across the CECAF region using new data provided by Member States.
According to Tarub Bahri, CECAF Secretary, improving fisheries data collection remains one of the region’s greatest challenges, recalling that “more than half of the fish stocks in the CECAF area are overexploited” and that the Lomé meeting aims to explore how small-scale fisheries can contribute more effectively to statistical data collection, improve the use of fisheries information, and help address sectoral challenges.
Visit to Lomé Fishing Port
As part of the programme, delegates visited the Lomé Fishing Port, where they observed fishing operations firsthand—from the arrival of fishing canoes and fish landings to ice production, fish handling, and marketing activities. The visit provided participants with practical insight into fisheries data collection, resource management measures, hygiene standards, and the role of fishing communities in sustainable fisheries governance.
Participants also discussed Togo’s upcoming biological rest period, which took effect on 1 July to allow fish stocks to regenerate.
Following the visit, Sidiya Diouf, Chair of the Small-Scale Fisheries Working Group, praised the port’s collaborative management model, noting that “the Port of Lomé offers an interesting example, bringing together public administration and a fisheries cooperative whose members actively participate in its management, and we observed strong commitment to improving sector organization while implementing measures that promote the sustainable management of fisheries resources.”
Through this meeting, CECAF Member States aim to strengthen regional cooperation, improve knowledge of small-scale fisheries, promote evidence-based fisheries management, and reinforce the sector’s contribution to food security, livelihoods, and sustainable economic development across the Eastern Central Atlantic region.
These efforts are aligned with the Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication (SSF Guidelines), which promote inclusive governance, stronger participation of fishing communities, and sustainable management of fisheries resources.