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ABSTRACT
The FAO Technical Workshop on Deep-sea Fisheries and Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems of the Eastern Central Atlantic took place in Dakar, Senegal, from 8 to 10 November 2016. The meeting was attended by 32 participants who contributed in their individual capacities to the discussions on the subjects of deep-sea fisheries and benthic habitats of the CECAF region. The participants had backgrounds in fisheries management, research, environment, fishing industry, non-governmental organizations, regional organizations, and projects. Invited experts provided case studies and examples of deep-sea fisheries management and processes to protect vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs) from the north, western-central and south Atlantic regions. The three-day workshop was organized into two main parts, with 2.5 days dedicated to discussions on deep-sea fisheries, and VMEs in the CECAF area (Part 1), and a half-day session specifically dedicated to awareness raising on sponges (Part 2). The deep-sea fisheries and VME component of the workshop aimed to support the implementation of the FAO International Guidelines on the Management of Deep-sea Fisheries in the High Seas (adopted 2008) in the region, and to increase knowledge and share experiences of the importance of addressing potential impacts from deep-sea bottom contact fisheries on VMEs. Overviews were provided on current global and regional instruments, processes and practices for the management of deep-sea fisheries and protection of VMEs, and their relevance to the CECAF region discussed. Deep-sea fisheries in EEZs and ABNJ were characterized and current available information on benthic habitats were reviewed. This component of the workshop resulted in a suite of advice and recommendations for the CECAF Scientific Sub-Committee to consider for recommendations to the next Committee meeting. The Sponges component of the workshop addressed the objectives of Work Package 8.2 of the SponGES project "Deep-sea Sponge Grounds Ecosystems of the North Atlantic: an integrated approach towards their preservation and sustainable exploitation", which aims to promote and facilitate dialogue and knowledge transfer between scientists, managers, policy-makers, and stakeholders from the Atlantic region on SponGES, through round-table dialogues.
PREPARATION OF THIS DOCUMENT
This is the report of the FAO/CECAF Technical Workshop on Deep-sea Fisheries and Vulnerable Marine Ecosystems in the Eastern Central Atlantic, organized in close collaboration with the Fishery Committee for the Eastern Central Atlantic (CECAF), which took place in Dakar, Senegal, from...