Every year, tons of fishing gear abandoned or lost at sea devastate marine ecosystems without anyone being held responsible. Faced with this scourge, Abidjan has decided to react. Gathered from June 16 to 18, 2026 under the chairmanship of Kodjo Alain, Technical Advisor in charge of fisheries at the Ministry of Animal and Fisheries Resources (MIRAH), stakeholders in the Ivorian fishing sector validated by consensus the draft decree relating to the marking of fishing engines. This text, which transposes the voluntary directives of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in this area, will apply to all operators, both artisanal and industrial.

According to Colonel Dedi Séraphin, representing the FAO during this work, this system will make it possible to establish “rigorous traceability of equipment” and to “sustainably empower stakeholders”. a particular urgency. This initiative is part of a broader effort to modernize the sector. The government had already established a biological deposit and initiated the registration of boats to better control the fishing effort. The new draft decree constitutes the missing link to close the loop of responsibility.

Its effective implementation now remains the decisive test. terrain, the distance can be as great as the ocean itself.