Gabon’s waters are home to the world’s largest nesting population of leatherback sea turtles, critically endangered humpback dolphins, humpback whale calving grounds, and over 60 species of sharks and rays. Additionally, Gabon’s old-growth mangrove forests make it the most carbon positive nation in the world, serve as a buffer against storms, and provide food for its coastal communities as well as a home for myriad fish, crab, shrimp and other sea life.
Gabon
The Project
Protecting Africa’s Last Eden
Legal fisheries contribute around 1.5% of Gabon’s gross domestic product (GDP) at $300 million, with small-scale fisheries accounting for approximately $185 million or 61.5% of that.
WildAid launched a partnership with the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Agency, the Direction Générale des Pêches et de l’Aquaculture (DGPA), in 2022 to enhance surveillance and enforcement capacity across the Gabonese EEZ, consisting of over 200,000 km2.
Our Impact
Putting Our Model Into Action
We collaborated with DGPA on Marine Protection System strategies for Gabon’s EEZ and are currently in the Implementation stage.
We provided a 9.5m patrol vessel with two 115 horsepower engines, equipped with surveillance equipment, including 2 thermal monocular scopes for night time patrol missions, laptops, cameras, VHF radios, binoculars, tablets, gauges, GPS with satellite connectivity, which allow the teams involved in surveillance to communicate outside of cell phone and VHF range for officer safety.
WildAid Marine hosted the first in-person training session in over a decade for the country’s fisheries inspectors from DGPA, who protect Gabon’s EEZ from illegal fishing, including its network of MPAs.
We plan to develop a fundraising strategy to secure additional support for critical operations.
We will help our partners create community engagement initiatives that address gaps and foster support for marine conservation and fisheries regulations.
We have reviewed legal regulations, agency policies and standard operating procedures, making recommendations to ensure effective protection for Gabon’s natural resources.
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- 9.5m patrol vessel with two 115 horsepower engines built to support DGPA’s surveillance efforts
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Surveillance kits purchased for fisheries inspector teams for effective resource protection.
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Comprehensive training conducted for fisheries inspectors, consisting of seven modules focused on fisheries regulations, boarding and inspection operations, safety and first aid, and use of the new vessel monitoring system and Skylight.
Your donation helps protect Africa’s last eden, home to the the world’s largest nesting population of leatherback sea turtles.
Field Notes
Our Partners
