Since its inception in 1999, the Sea Around Us has strived to make its data and methods available to everyone, especially to developing countries. This is to foster access to and use of reconstructed fisheries catch statistics and -when possible- so that they start carrying out reconstructions themselves.
This week, we were pleasantly informed that the Ministerial Conference on Fisheries Cooperation Among African States Bordering the Atlantic Ocean, COMHAFAT-ATLAFCO, is encouraging member nations to use or consider Sea Around Us data.
Founded in 1989 with the goal of promoting effective and active cooperation for the preservation and sustainable development of fisheries resources in the region, ATLAFCO brings together 22 countries from Morocco to Namibia.
The Sea Around Us, together with colleagues around the world, has reconstructed the catches for all West African countries, as part of the global catch reconstruction efforts. At present, efforts are underway to update these data to the most recent year of international data records.
We are very excited by the fact that important regional and international organizations, such as ATLAFCO, are supporting the availability and use of these data for research and work on conservation and sustainable use of fisheries resources. Particularly encouraging to the Sea Around Us are the growing efforts by country scientists around the world to consider and adopt parts or all of the reconstruction approach to improve national data records and accounting of total fisheries catches.
To learn more about the fisheries data for each of the countries covered by ATLAFCO, visit the countries’ profiles.
Morocco
Mauritania
Senegal
The Gambia
Guinea-Bissau
Guinea
Sierra Leone
Liberia
Côte d’Ivoire
Ghana
Togo
Benin
Nigeria
Cameroon
Equatorial Guinea
Gabon
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Angola
Namibia