What it says about the Fisheries Closed Season

Historian, political scientist and specialist in mobilising political groups, local decision-makers and producer communities, Dr Mechak N’Goran is the Ocean’s friends international NGO’s Executive Secretary. In this interview conducted by Inter on World Ocean Day (2023), he talks about the need for sustainable ocean management, maritime planning, the blue economy, cross-border waste management and his organisation’s contribution to meeting these challenges. 

What is the ocean reality today?

Water covers more than 70% of the planet’s surface and represents a significant source of revenue, estimated at 25,000 billion dollars (more than 15,000,000 billion CFA francs) a year, according to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). The rise in the temperature of ocean waters is increasingly worrying, and its consequences are even more alarming, with a drop in their oxygen content. At present, four times as many ocean areas are dead (oxygen-depleted, editor’s note). There are also ten times as many low-oxygen coastal marine areas as there were in the 1950s. In these areas, life is becoming scarce and bacteria are multiplying, feeding on human pollution (sewage and agricultural residues, editor’s note). Marine organisms leave these areas to avoid suffocating to death, exposing themselves to predators from other marine environments and to fishing.

In the light of this situation, can we say oceans are in good health?

In addition to degrading the marine environment, the proliferation of fishing is depleting marine resources, and the WWF estimates that 82 million tonnes of fish are caught each year. Yet between now and 2030, fish production and consumption will continue to grow worldwide. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), annual global fish consumption, which stood at 20.5 kg per person in 2018, could rise to 21.5 kg per capita, with total production expected to reach 204 million tonnes. This level of production calls for efficient management of resources. That’s why some friends and I decided to set up this NGO, called Ocean’s Friends International, which works in the field of the environment and the marine environment.

« There is still much to be done in the marine and coastal environment field, which requires greater visibility, advocacy and support in all their forms. »

What contribution will your NGO make to finding solutions to this ocean crisis?

As you know, I have a doctorate in Political History, with a speciality in the electoral mobilisation of political groups and community involvement. The experience I have acquired in the course of my research can be applied to all aspects of social, economic and environmental life, and wherever there is a need to mobilise young people, women and key players for a just and commendable purpose. Moreover, environmental problems require the mobilisation of everyone. At this point, I would like to pay tribute to the Côte d’Ivoire government for its constant efforts to promote ecological and environmental sustainability, and to the non-state actors who are already active. However, much remains to be done, especially in the field of the marine and coastal environment, which requires greater visibility, advocacy and support in all its forms, with the involvement of the populations whose livelihoods depend on it.

What are your organisation’s objectives and mission?

The aim of Ocean’s Friends International is to help meet the main challenges of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with priority given to point 14, which aims to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development. In other words, sustainable management of fisheries resources, conservation of the environment and comprehensive protection of the marine and coastal habitat. The NGO also combats marine pollution and encourages the involvement and commitment of local communities and marine resource stakeholders to contribute more actively to the restoration of marine and coastal biodiversity.

How do you assess marine pollution and the management of plastic waste, which has become a cross-border concern?

Marine pollution and plastic waste pose a threat to the health of oceans, ecosystems and communities. According to the online media, Impact Afrique, every year, five thousand billion plastic bags are used on the planet. As people’s living standards and consumption levels rise, they are adopting the habits of developed countries and consuming more and more plastic bottles and packaging. This is a strong driver of plastic production worldwide. Between 1990 and 2017, global demand increased by 4.7% per year, four times faster than population growth. There is therefore a general awareness of this phenomenon, but not yet enough in developing countries. We are counting on government initiatives, and even more so on non-governmental associations, to regularly sound the alarm about the overuse of plastics and their release into the environment.

How does your organisation intend to address issues such as the cross-border plastic waste management, illegal fishing, maritime piracy and threat to marine resources which are of concern to the countries in the Gulf of Guinea region?

By their very nature, the oceans and their resources are shared, and the risks and consequences of their degradation are mutual, so solutions must be common. It is precisely because the stakes are global that a sustainable development objective has been dedicated to them since September 2015. It is important to point out that our NGO, although registered in Côte d’Ivoire, with its head office in Grand-Bassam, a historic seaside town, plans to work closely with public and private players at the national, regional and international levels in formulating policies and implementing them. It also intends to promote transparency in the fishing industry and good governance of natural marine and coastal resources, including fisheries and forest resources (mangroves, editor’s note). In short, it wants to pay particular attention to the use of information and communication technology and technological innovation to tackle the main challenges facing the sector, such as the fight against IUU fishing (illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing) and associated crimes.

Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) and blue ports are increasingly being discussed as part of the Blue Economy Strategy, in line with the African Union’s Agenda 2063. What are the challenges and opportunities for the Gulf of Guinea region States?

Marine spatial planning takes into account a range of measures, of which Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are an essential component. Created by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) in 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), MPAs are havens of biodiversity where fishing and exploitation are managed or even prohibited with the aim of preserving and restoring marine ecosystems. An international study of their impact has just been conducted by French researcher Philippe Cury of the Research Institute for Development (Ird). The report concludes that MPAs can indeed help to mitigate the upheavals we are witnessing. The United Nations’ stated ambition in SDG 14 is to take measures to preserve 10% of the world’s oceans, and rightly so. In a recent Ecowas strategic approach, the Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, Ms Massandjé Touré-Listé, called on the global Community to designate 30% of land and ocean areas as protected by 2030.

What about initiatives in Côte d’Ivoire and the sub-region?

We are pleased to know that national, regional and international initiatives are coming together. These include an initiative by the World Environment Fund (WEF) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) at regional level to support a regional approach to marine spatial planning between Togo, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, under the banner of the Fisheries Committee for the Central West and Gulf of Guinea (FCWC). There is also the historic decision to create the first MPA in Côte d’Ivoire, off Grand Bereby in the San Pedro region, in 2020, as well as the national strategy for blue-economy development currently being finalised. These are all opportunities and projects to which we intend to contribute fully in order to achieve their objectives.

What are your plans to boost the Blue Economy dynamics, which calls for ocean management to be multi-sectoral and for governance texts to be harmonised?

Texts adoption and harmonisation with regional and international standards are first and foremost the responsibility of the States. However, we will remain available to provide our contributions in terms of technical consultation and the implementation of components that may fall within our scope, or to promote experience sharing or cases of good practice in this area. After all, as you so aptly put it, blue economy development requires not only a multisectoral approach, but also an inclusive and multidisciplinary one, and we intend to play our part in this.

« The blue economy will inevitably contribute to alleviating poverty and inequalities in resource allocation, and is an essential driver of economic recovery and a catalyst for sustainable socio-economic transformation. »

What are the sectors targeted by the Blue Economy and what are the sustainability requirements for small-scale fishing and aquaculture in light of natural resource depletion?

The blue economy does not have a universal definition, but its meaning is understandable and achievable. The Blue Economy is very specific in its inclusiveness: economic growth, environmental sustainability and improved livelihoods. It also inevitably contributes to poverty and inequality reduction in resource distribution, and is an essential element of economic recovery as well as a catalyst for sustainable socio-economic transformation. In this context, the blue economy is an opportunity for the fisheries and aquaculture development sector. Its implementation will identify and take into account the sector’s pockets of economic development, the challenges and the long-term strategy for economic and social reconstruction.

Can we talk about sustainable oceans and fishing without promoting the rights and improving the working conditions of stakeholders in the fishing industry?

Promoting rights and improving working conditions in general, and for those in the fisheries sector in particular, are addressed under SDG 8, which aims to promote sustained, shared and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all. More than 3 billion people depend on fish for animal protein, and more than 800 million people depend on aquaculture, fisheries and associated fish value chains for their livelihoods. This includes the 60 million people directly employed in marine and inland capture fisheries, the 200 million estimated to be employed in the post-capture or secondary sector, and their families and dependents. The central Gulf of Guinea area, including countries such as Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, has 300,000 people directly dependent on fishing, while a further 10,437,328 depend indirectly on the sector.

What are you doing to contribute effectively to the implementation of provisions aimed at improving current stakeholders working conditions?

Madam, you will agree with me that for sustainable development to become a reality, efforts are needed to ensure both effective ocean conservation and greater attention to the effective implementation of international law on working conditions, including safety at sea. These international instruments include the International Labour Organisation (ILO) Convention on Work in Fishing (C188), the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) Cape Town Agreement on the Safety of Fishing Vessels, and the Agreement on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate Illegal Fishing. Ocean’s Friends International will help to raise awareness of these instruments and support interested states in implementing them. In short, by building the capacity of those involved in the fishing industry, our organisation is showing its willingness, and that of its partners, to support the implementation of these instruments at local and international level.

Do you agree with those who complain about closed seasons for sea fishing without any prior support?

Thank you for your pertinent question, which has been much in the news. I would like to give my opinion on the first fisheries closed season in Côte d’Ivoire. As a non-governmental organisation specialising in ocean governance and resources, we are following this measure and its implementation very closely. I am therefore delighted that the decree establishing the closed season was adopted by the Council of Ministers on 19 April 2023. I congratulate Mr Sidi Touré, Minister of Animal and Fisheries Resources, on this courageous and historic decision in terms of fisheries resource management in Côte d’Ivoire and our sub-region.

However, we regret that non-state actors, particularly NGOs, are not really involved in the implementation of this measure. It would be to their advantage to relay this decision to the public. As far as we are concerned, we will remain active in the field to ensure that the measure is effective and to carry out the necessary follow-up in order to provide our observations and perspectives for potential adjustments.

Why is it important for stakeholders to take ownership of this closed season measure?

Stakeholders must take ownership of this closed season period, designed to conserve fish stocks and ensure that reserves are replenished under normal natural conditions, free from fishing. The measure itself is the best support that a responsible government concerned about the interests of its population can provide, given the increasingly negative trend in catches which, in the long run, could wipe out the livelihoods of this brave population operating along the entire fish value chain. If this measure is properly applied, with effective ecological and socio-economic spin-offs, it will above all be to the benefit of those involved in the industry. Once again, I see this measure as a timeless and equitable support for all players in the fisheries value chain.