Monrovia, Liberia – The Liberia Media Advocacy Group for Fisheries and Ocean Governance (LiMAGFOG) is calling on the Government of Liberia to endorse the Mombasa Declaration, a new global political initiative aimed at strengthening transparency, accountability, and sustainable management in the fisheries sector.
The Mombasa Declaration is designed to secure concrete and implementable government commitments on fisheries transparency, aligned with the Global Charter for Fisheries Transparency. The initiative recognizes transparency as a critical tool for improving fisheries governance, strengthening enforcement, combating illegal fishing, and ensuring the long-term sustainability of marine resources.
Under the Declaration, signatory governments are encouraged to commit to a set of priority transparency reforms, including establishing or modernizing digital vessel registries and sharing that data with the FAO Global Record of Fishing Vessels. Governments are also expected to publish fishing licenses, authorizations, access agreements, and quota allocations in order to improve public accountability within the fisheries sector.
Additionally, the Declaration calls on governments to ensure that all industrial fishing vessels are assigned unique vessel identifiers (UVIs), such as International Maritime Organization (IMO) numbers, while progressively implementing similar identification systems for small-scale fishing vessels. Another key commitment is the collection of information on the ultimate beneficial owners of vessels and fishing companies to help authorities identify and hold accountable those responsible for fisheries violations.
The Mombasa Declaration also encourages countries to take stronger action against flags of convenience, strengthen monitoring, control and surveillance systems, and enforce obligations under the Port State Measures Agreement in order to prevent illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
The Declaration will be formally announced at this year’s Our Ocean Conference (OOC) in Mombasa, Kenya. The conference will serve as an important global platform to highlight the initiative and recognize governments that have committed to advancing fisheries transparency.
Governments are welcome to endorse the Declaration ahead of the conference, and those that do will be publicly recognized during the event, which attracts international attention from policymakers, civil society organizations, and global partners in ocean governance.
According to LiMAGFOG, Liberia’s endorsement of the Declaration would demonstrate the country’s commitment to transparency, responsible fisheries governance, and the sustainable management of its marine resources.
“Fisheries transparency is essential for protecting our ocean resources, ensuring accountability in the sector, and safeguarding the livelihoods of thousands of Liberians who depend on fisheries,” said Trokon A. Freeman, Executive Director of LiMAGFOG and Campaigner for the Mombasa Declaration. “We encourage the Government of Liberia to join other forward-looking nations in endorsing the Mombasa Declaration and strengthening transparency in the fisheries sector.”
Several governments are already being engaged to build momentum around the Declaration, including Kenya, Canada, South Korea, Ghana, France, and Indonesia.
LiMAGFOG believes that the Declaration will also serve as an important accountability tool for civil society organizations and stakeholders to track government commitments and support efforts aimed at improving fisheries governance.
As an organization committed to promoting transparency and accountability in fisheries and ocean governance, LiMAGFOG says it stands ready to work with the Government of Liberia and other stakeholders to advance the objectives of the Mombasa Declaration and strengthen sustainable fisheries management in the country.
About LiMAGFOG
The Liberia Media Advocacy Group for Fisheries and Ocean Governance (LiMAGFOG) is a civil society organization dedicated to promoting transparency, accountability, and sustainable fisheries management in Liberia. The organization operates Fisheries Journal, an online media platform that reports on developments within the fisheries sector.
LiMAGFOG is an affiliate member of Coalition for Fisheries Transparency (CFT), an international body campaigning for the overall endorsement of the Declaration.
Media Contact:
Mobile: +231777973957
Whatsapp: +231886973957