In a joint statement made public this Wednesday, March 1, 2023, the Minister of Fisheries and the Maritime Economy, as well as that of Transport gave firm instructions to all companies owning industrial and/or semi-industrial fishing vessels present in Guinean waters.
These instructions concern vessels flying foreign flags and Guinean vessels that do not have fishing authorizations or are seeking permits:
“1/ For vessels flying foreign flags and not holding a fishing authorization staying in the maritime areas, under sovereignty of the Guinean courts during the present fishing campaign to leave the Guinean EEZ no later than March 31, 2023 rigor. After this period, these vessels will be considered as having made an incursion into the EEZ without prior information from the Ministry of Fisheries and without authorization from the Ministry of Transport.
2/ For vessels flying foreign flags seeking a fishing permit, but not yet in the EEZ, to limit their stays in the Guinean EEZ to a maximum of three months, beyond which they are invited to leave the Guinean EEZ.
3/ for vessels flying the Guinean flag and not holding a fishing authorization to approach the CNSP and the merchant navy in order to examine and set up a permanent monitoring system for the said vessels”.
According to the press release, compliance with this instruction “is mandatory” for all fishing vessels flying the Guinean flag and not holding a fishing authorization.
Ministers Charlotte Daffé and Félix Lamah ask their competent technical services to ensure the rigorous execution of the provisions of this press release.