Seafood Champions

The West African Journalists Network for Responsible Fisheries (REJOPRAO) received the 2010 Seafood Champion Award in Brussels at the European Seafood Exposition.
(2010 winners have been announced at the Boston Seafood Show on March 14.)

During the cocktail organized by Seafood Choices, in collaboration with OSO Madagascar, to celebrate 5 years of Seafood Champions, Mr. Sid Ahmed Sidi Mohamed Abeid, President of the Mauritanian National Federation of Fisheries, represented REJOPRAO and received the award on their behalf.

For this occasion, M. Abeid delivered a speech on behalf of Mr. Jedna Deida, REJOPRAO coordinator in Mauritania:

Dear friends,

It is my great honour to accept, on behalf of our partners - the journalists of the REJOPRAO network, this award that recognizes the interest that the West African press gives to responsible fishing.

It is also with great excitement that I accept this award on behalf of REJOPRAO. In fact, it reminds me of 2006, when, with my colleagues from artisanal fishing organisations in Senegal and Guinea, we organized in my country of Mauritania, the first discussion between coastal communities and the media, which saw the creation of REJOPRAO. At this meeting, what we said is that the work of the press is to seek out the truth, and to say it with complete independence; it is to give voice to the voiceless.

And since 2006, journalists working in REJOPRAO have contributed to this: their articles, their radio broadcasts and their programs have raised public awareness of the realities and challenges of communities who depend on fishing, and they have helped people realise that responsible fishing is for all of us, West Africans, more than a question of protection of resources; it is a matter of survival of our communities and the eco-systems upon which we depend in order to survive.

Fishery resources are our common heritage and we must all act responsibly: producers from Africa, as well as consumers from the North, with whom an organization like Seafood Choices is working to raise awareness.

I am therefore certain that being awarded by Seafood Choices will only enhance the willingness of REJOPRAO journalists to commit themselves to sustainable fisheries, and to continue to energize their network.

Published in July 2010