In West Africa, over 200 million people rely on fish as their primary source of protein. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (UN FAO) State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture 2024 report, 35% of global fish stocks are now overexploited — more than triple the level recorded in 1974. Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, marine pollution and climate change now pose severe threats to livelihoods, food security and national stability across the region.
IUU fishing alone represents up to 40% of all regional catches, costing West African economies more than USD2.3 billion annually. Fisheries are no longer solely an ecological concern — they are a matter of security, governance, and workers’ rights.
IUU fishing refers to activities that violate national or international laws, avoid reporting obligations, or occur in areas or for species where governance structures are inadequate. Its impacts on African states are profound — draining public revenues from taxes, licences and landing fees, and undermining the livelihoods of local artisanal fishing communities.
Key international tools exist — including the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA), the International Labour Organization (ILO) Work in Fishing Convention, 2007 (C188), and the Cape Town Agreement (CTA). The CTA remains unratified across many West Africa Fishers Organising Project (WAFOP) countries, and full and proper implementation of PSMA and C188 is urgently needed.
Declaration
We, the undersigned unions and civil society organisations, declare our shared commitment to confront IUU fishing and defend the rights and welfare of all fishers across West Africa. Together, we commit to:
- Establishing a Regional IUU Taskforce/Working Group to enhance knowledge-sharing, intelligence exchange, and coordinated action across borders.
- Campaigning and lobbying for the full and proper implementation of C188 and the PSMA, ensuring decent work, safe vessels, and IUU and labour-focused port state controls throughout the region.
- Campaigning nationally for the CTA ratification across WAFOP countries.
- Building a worker‑ and fisheries‑observer‑led advisory group to lead the campaign and ensure worker voices are at its centre.
- Learning from one another, documenting national successes and challenges in addressing IUU fishing and using that knowledge to overcome shared barriers.
- Developing a joint regional Action Plan for 2026, led by the Working Group.
Planned Activities – ITF, ITF affiliates, and civil society partners
On combating IUU fishing
- Awareness‑raising programmes in artisanal fishing communities (building on successful Ghana initiatives).
- Collective advocacy for greater transparency, aligned with the Global Charter for Fisheries Transparency.
- Regular information‑sharing and joint analysis across unions, civil society organisations (CSOs), and observers.
- Monthly virtual coordination meetings led by a regional coordinator.
- Training on recognising and reporting IUU practices at the artisanal level.
- Knowledge exchanges with partners and relevant stakeholders (e.g., satellite tools, vessel tracking and monitoring technologies).
- Expanding participatory surveillance programmes in coastal communities.
- Integrating labour rights data with IUU risk analysis using tools such as the Trygg Mat Tracking (TMT) database.
- Building fishers’ understanding of the criminalisation risks they face when employers order them to engage in illegal fishing.
- Advocacy for the national revision of fishing codes to ensure transparency, accountability and gender inclusivity.
For ITF-affiliated trade unions
- Strengthening leadership capacity and organisational resilience.
- Reinforcing cross‑border collaboration among trade unions to confront IUU fishing collectively.
- Promotion of women in fish processing and distribution, including ensuring that supply chains are free from IUU-sourced fish.
Through solidarity, shared knowledge, and coordinated regional action, we reaffirm our commitment to dismantling the structures that enable IUU fishing and to securing dignity, safety and decent work for all fishers across West Africa. Together, we stand united in the fight for justice and sustainable fisheries for future generations.
Dakar declaration signatories:
International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF)
Maritime Dockworkers Union of Ghana (MDU)
National Union of Teamsters and General Workers (NUTEG)
Syndicat National de la Marine Marchande (SNTMM)
Syndicat Nationale de Gens de Mer (SNGMS)
Union Democratique des Travaileurs de Senegal (UDTS)
Syndicat de Marin Pecheurs de Cote d’Ivoire (SYMAPECHI)
Greenpeace Africa
