WTO, EU pressure push gov’t to tackle illegal fishing.

The online news portal Business in Cameroon reports that government is embarking on a crackdown against illegal fishing, specifically due to pressure from external bodies. 

Authorities have intensified its battle against illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. 

The bill to regulate subsidies in the maritime fishing sector was adopted at the National Assembly on June 21 while the Senate did same on July 6.

It allows the President to ratify the amended Protocol of the Marrakech Agreement of the World Trade Organisation. 

The amendment specifically includes the June 17, 2022, Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies in Annex 1A, aiming to restrict subsidies that contribute to overfishing and threaten the sustainability of marine resources.

Authorities see it as a chance to enhance national capabilities for monitoring and controlling fishing activities. 

“By ending subsidies to foreign industrial vessels accused of plundering Cameroon’s territorial waters, the country also hopes to access funds from the WTO fisheries fund to improve fisheries management and promote sustainable exploitation of marine resources,” the Cameroon Business Today reported.

The move of the government is pictured as a strategy to clean up and develop a sector vital to the national economy.  

The enactment comes as Cameroon prepares to host the 14th session of the WTO Ministerial Conference in February 2026. 

It is considered a significant international event expected to bring together 195 delegations and around 6,000 participants, according to projections provided by the Ministry of Trade.

Away from WTO influence, stakeholders also say government´s decision to ratify the agreement is driven by recent pressure from the European Union, which in January 2023, sanctioned Cameroon for its lack of cooperation in responsible marine resource management. 

The warning, observers say, has spurred national efforts to combat IUU fishing, a practice which they say, threatens fish stock sustainability and weakens the marine ecosystem in Cameroon´s territorial waters.

Meanwhile, The Guardian Post learnt that authorities have already taken some steps to tackle the issue.  For one, a Memorandum of Understanding was signed between the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries and the Ministry of Defense to bolster national efforts in the fight against IUU fishing. 

Additionally, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, FAO is actively supporting Cameroon in developing an action plan to comply with the 2009 Port State Measures Agreement, PSMA. 

The goal of this agreement is to prevent, deter, and eliminate IUU fishing by denying vessels involved in such practices the use of local ports for landing their catches.

This story was first published in The Guardian Post issue N0:3173 of Friday July 19, 2024