Dakar, Senegal – A workshop was held yesterday at the Good Rade Hotel in Dakar to disseminate the findings of a project aimed at enhancing transparency in Senegal’s fisheries sector. The project was funded by Bloomberg Philanthropies’ Vibrant Oceans Initiative and Implemented by CEMLAWS Africa and FENAGIE PECHE as country partner for Senegal over three phases spanning the past two years. The workshop brought together over 30 participants including representatives from fishing communities, civil society organizations, government agencies, media and academia. In his opening remarks, the project coordinator highlighted the lack of transparency that has plagued the fisheries sector and led to challenges for fisherfolk, coastal communities and governments. The first two phases of the project included research and stakeholder consultations to analyze governance frameworks, opportunities to promote accountability and ways to strengthen partnerships.
Presentations were made on the key activities and outcomes of these initial phases. Several stakeholders also provided feedback and reviews of the findings. The lack of an effective information sharing system and need to reform fisheries policies and enforcement were highlighted as major issues uncovered. Participants engaged in lively discussions on adopting measures to address these challenges.
Moving forward, participants agreed on the importance of sustaining dialogue between stakeholders to implement the project’s recommendations. Opportunities for future collaboration were explored to further the goals of enhancing transparency, governance and sustainability across Senegal’s fisheries sector for the benefit of coastal communities and the marine environment. The successful workshop concluded the third phase of dissemination and reporting on the multi-year initiative.