Nigeria Piloting Regional Fishing Vessel Register In Gulf of Guinea

Nigeria is set to serve as the pilot country for the formal implementation of the Regional Record of Authorised Fishing Vessels in West Africa.
The commitment was announced by the minister of Marine and Blue Economy and chairman of the Conference of Ministers of the Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC), Dr. Adegboyega Oyetola during a high-level meeting with the organisation’s secretary-general and secretariat staff in Abuja.
The minister said Nigeria’s decision to host the pilot phase of the Regional Record of Authorised Fishing Vessels demonstrates its resolve to translate regional leadership into measurable outcomes for sustainable fisheries management.

Dr Oyetola said Nigeria expected the pilot phase to test feasibility, identify operational gaps and generate practical lessons for broader regional rollout.
He pledged that Nigeria would use its experience to guide and support other member states once implementation expands, stressing that collective action was essential to protect fisheries resources and livelihoods in the Gulf of Guinea.

According to him, “The project is envisaged as a formalised and validated regional database containing comprehensive and reliable information on fishing vessels authorised to operate within the maritime jurisdictions of FCWC Member States. This initiative represents a major step forward in strengthening transparency, accountability and cooperation in fisheries governance across our shared waters.”
Speaking earlier, the FCWC secretary-general, Antoine Gaston Djihinto, commended the minister for his commitment to addressing illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, and also for boosting fish production in the country.

The proposed Regional Record of Authorised Fishing Vessels will create a verified database of industrial fishing vessels authorised to operate within the maritime zones of FCWC member states, covering both foreign and national fleets.
The system is designed to improve transparency, accountability and cross-border cooperation in a region heavily affected by illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
The initiative builds on a roadmap endorsed by member states and reaffirmed in the Monrovia Declaration, which set out steps for establishing the register as a shared governance tool across West Central Africa.