Gambian Fisheries and Water Resources Secretary Yankuba Touray has said that fishing had become an important element in the global market place in response to the dynamic food industry.

He made the remark here Monday at a joint meeting of Senegalese and Gambian officials to mark the signing of a fishing agreement between both countries.

Touray said "It’s in this context that the fisheries resources can no longer sustain the growing international demand for fisheries resources."

According to him, it is against this background that in 1991 the committee on fi sheries called for the development of a new concept which could lead into the development of responsible and sustained fisheries.

He pointed out that the Gambian Government was extremely concerned about the unsustainable fisheries resources use and damages to the aquatic environment which n eeded to be addressed urgently through appropriate policy and legislative reforms.

Souleymane Ndene Ndiaye, The Senegalese Minister of State for Maritime Economy, Maritime Transport, Fisheries and Aquaculture, noted that Gambia and Senegal were linked by history, blood and culture and the relation between the two countries was strongly protected by the two governments.

He added that the Senegalese-Gambian fishing agreement was to strengthen the fisheries industry of the two countries, noting that the two had a common fishing understanding.

The Sub-Regional Fisheries Commissioner, Mr. Kane Cire Amadou, revealed that his commission was established in 1985, with the objective of harmonizing the fisheries polices since fishing had no boundaries.

According to him, members of the commission are Gambia, Senegal, Cape Verde, Gun iea-Bissua, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Mauritania.
 
Banjul - 14/04/2008
Source
Panapress