PRESS RELEASE
Mbour, December 09, 2021 – African Confederation of Professional Organizations of Artisanal Fisheries (CAOPA) has been following with attention, lately, a situation of misunderstanding between some artisanal fishermen of Senegal, Guinea-Bissau and the Coast Guard.
Since these two countries are members of CAOPA, and the governments are our first partners, we deplore the violence and all the incidents that have occurred as a result of this situation.
We believe that this is a situation that could be resolved through the Memorandum of Agreement binding the two states.
In view of this situation, CAOPA calls on the Senegalese and Guinea-Bissau authorities, and particularly the artisanal fishing professionals (of both countries), to respect the content of the Memorandum of Agreement and the related legal instruments (maritime fishing code), which undoubtedly play a role in preventing conflicts.
We urge parties in conflict to be more responsible and civic-minded.
Our member organizations should in both countries raise awareness among their members to respect the applicable principles.
As fishing is a unifying element for the States and especially for the communities, CAOPA reiterates its commitment to continue awareness raising among actors in order to create a favourable and responsible working environment for the fishing communities and a shared benefit between different stakeholders.
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Communication contact : Aliou DIALLO – e-mail : caopacom@gmail.com – 76 600 80 41