Ministerial Declaration of Accra on combating Illegal,
Unreported and Unregulated Fishing
We, the Ministers in charge of fisheries of the member Countries of the Fisheries
Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC),
During the Third Ordinary Session of the Ministerial Conference of the Fisheries Committee for
the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) held in Accra, Ghana on 17 December 2009;
Mind full of the rights and obligations of the States as mentioned in the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea signed on 10 December 1982, ratified by all the member
Countries of the Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC);
Referring to the 5th article of the convention on the creation of the Fisheries Committee for the
West Central Gulf of Guinea related to the objectives of the FCWCA, particularly the conservation
of the optimal use of the fisheries resources;
Bearing in mind the need for collaboration within coastal countries on protection, conservation
and management of fisheries resources in West Central Gulf of Guinea, and the need to promote
the development of our national fisheries industries;
Recognizing the increasing importance of the fisheries resources for the sustainable socioeconomic development of the States of the sub-region, and for poverty reduction and food
security improvement of the populations;
Recognizing the objectives and principles of the Code of conduct for responsible fisheries and
the specific provisions of the 1995 United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement and the 1993 FAO
Agreement to promote Compliance with International Conservation and Management Measures
by Fishing Vessels on the High Seas;
Recognizing the objectives and principles of the international Action Plan to combat Illegal,
Unreported and Unregulated fishing adopted by the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI) during
its twenty-fourth session, and the responsibilities of the International Community with respect
to this practice;
Deeply worried about the intensification of the operations of illegal, unreported and
unregulated fishing in waters of the member Countries of the Fisheries Committee for the West
Central Gulf of Guinea and damages caused to national economies by this practice;
Noting that it is in the mutual interest of the member Countries of the Fisheries Committee for
the West Central Gulf of Guinea to cooperate in the exercise of their sovereign rights on
maritime waters under their respective jurisdictions;
Determined to protect by strict control and effective surveillance of the fishing vessels
operating in the sub-region for the benefit of the present and future generations;
Decide to mobilize all the means at our disposal to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal,
unreported and unregulated fishing in the sub-region;
Decide to adhere fully to the international action plan aiming at preventing, deterring and
eliminating illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing by adopting the regional plan of the
Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea to combat this practice;
Mandate the Chairman of the Ministerial Conference and the Committee Secretariat-General to
take all the necessary measures for the implementation of the regional plan of the Fisheries
Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated
fishing;
Invite the member Countries that issue the flags of convenience to make sure that their vessels
do not engage in illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing;
Solemnly invite the International Community to support the member Countries of the Fisheries
Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated
fishing.
Done in Accra, Ghana, on 18 December 2009