Banjul, 10th April 2025: Stakeholders in the fisheries sector on Tuesday, April 8th converged at a local hotel for a consultation on proposed amendments on the Fisheries Act and Regulations. The amendments were proposed during the review process by FAO and the technical team of the Ministry of Fisheries, in terms of their applicability and relation with other sectors. In his opening remarks, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Fisheries, 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 utilisation of our 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 the Government has prioritised the fisheries sector as one of the key drivers of economic diversification and national development. He said the Ministry, in light of the above, has taken decisive steps to amend some parts of the existing Act and Regulation with a view to open the bottlenecks that hinder their implementation and operationalization in order to effectively and efficiently deliver on that roll. “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 emerging issues”, the PS opined. He said the current Fisheries Act even though has many relevant and applicable provisions, 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) The consultation will be followed by a stakeholder validation of the proposed amendments. The Permanent Secretary commended FAO team from Rome and FAO Gambia Office for their support. By Modou Kanteh
