By: Modou Kanteh
Stakeholders in the fisheries sector converged on Tuesday, 8th April at a local hotel for a consultation on the Fisheries Act and Regulations.
In his opening remark, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Fisheries and Water Resources, Buba Sanyang, pointed out that the Fisheries Act and Regulations are vital legal instruments that provide the foundation for the sustainable management, conservation and utilization of national fishery resources. He said in The Gambia, fishing is not only a key livelihood for thousands of citizens, but also a pillar of food security and a growing contributor to the economy.
According to PS Sanyang, looking at its critical role, the Government has prioritized the fisheries sector as one of the key drivers of economic diversification and national development. In light of the above, he said the Ministry has taken decisive steps to amend some parts of the existing Act and Regulations with a view to opening the bottlenecks that hinder their implementation and operationalization in order to effectively and efficiently deliver on that role.
“A policy review or amendment is not and should not necessarily be how old a policy document is but rather how relevant it is in its implementation and application, especially to imagine issues,” the PS said. The permanent secretary noted that hence, a policy review and/or amendment become apparent if it falls short in its implementation and accommodation of imagine issues. He said the current Fisheries Act even though have many relevant and applicable provisions, still needs adjustment to ease implementation and accommodate new issues.
It is expected that this amendment will further introduce few new provisions to accommodate Port State Measures (PSMA) and issues related to Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported Fishing (IUU Fishing).
“We are gathered here today to critically look at the amendments proposed during the review process by FAO and the technical team of the Ministry of Fisheries in terms of their applicability and most importantly, how they relate to your sectors,” added PS Sanyang.
This consultation, when successfully completed, will be followed by a stakeholder validation of these proposed amendments.
The fisheries and water resources PS applauded the FAO team from Rome and FAO-Gambia Office for their support.
