Gabon has just adopted a new national strategy for the development of the maritime, fisheries, and blue economy sectors. The objective is to strengthen governance, sustainability, and economic attractiveness in the field of maritime fishing.
Presented in Libreville by the Minister of the Sea, Fisheries and the Blue Economy, Laurence Ndong, this strategy is based on six priority axes aimed at giving new momentum to the maritime fishing sector in this Central African country.
The first axis concerns the transition to a sustainable blue economy, with a focus on governance, mobilization of financing, climate adaptation, and risk management, according to the Gabonese minister.
The second axis aims to strengthen the legal and institutional framework through the revision of existing laws, the creation of a corps of fisheries monitoring officers, the drafting of collective agreements for workers, and the establishment of technical structures such as Gabon Pêche Industrie and the Gabonese Fisheries Office, she noted.
The third axis provides for the rehabilitation and creation of key infrastructures, including a new port, fishing centers, and the organization of fisheries value chains.
Dedicated to control and surveillance, the fourth axis focuses on the modernization of monitoring tools, pooling of resources, training of agents with the status of judicial police officers, and the fight against corruption.
According to the minister, the fifth axis concerns the sustainable management of fisheries, with improved knowledge, the development of exploitation zones, and better planning, while the sixth axis is devoted to international cooperation, including the revision of fishing agreements, strengthening of bilateral and multilateral partnerships, and rigorous monitoring of existing commitments.