By Modou Kanteh
The Ministry of Fisheries, Water Resources and National Assembly Matters, in collaboration with The Gambia Maritime Administration, is set to start registering all canoes operating in the country. This exercise is to ensure that the authorities have accurate data of all the canoes operating in Gambian waters, as in line with the 2012 Fisheries Act.
Ahead of the registration exercise, the Ministry of Fisheries, Water Resources and National Assembly Matters conveyed a stakeholders’ meeting on Wednesday, 28 August 2024 at the ministry’s conference hall in Banjul. The meeting aimed at giving stakeholders first-hand information on the planned canoe registration exercise.
Speaking at the meeting, the Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Fisheries, Buba Sanyang, highlighted the significance of the planned exercise. “We want to have one format that will be used across all landing sites,” he said and pointed out that the Ministry is aware of some challenges existing among different actors across the landing sites. This, he said, is due to the natural resources being managed in those landing sites.
The Permanent Secretary used the meeting to remind Centre Management Committees at various landing sites that they do not have the powers to allocate lands to anyone around the fisheries landing sites. He clarified that the committees can only make recommendation to the Ministry of Fisheries.
PS Sanyang also called on the fisheries officers posted at various landing sites to collaborate with various actors within the landing sites. “Your job is observatory; which involves observing the type of net being used in your landing sites,” Sanyang said.
Officials of the Department of Fisheries and The Gambia Maritime Administration are expected to start the nationwide sensitisation on the registration of canoes. This is the first time the Ministry is embarking on registering canoes in the country.
