After a meeting on Friday, March 3, 2023 in Brest, officers announced that the navies of the coastal states of the Gulf of Guinea and the French navy will focus their cooperation on combating illegal fishing and drug trafficking.

Rear Admiral Istifanus Albara of the Nigerian Navy, director of the West Africa Regional Maritime Security Center said that “for some time, the focus has been on piracy. It is time for us to focus our action on combating illegal fishing.” Indeed, last week, a delegation of officials from states bordering the Gulf met in Brest within the framework of maritime cooperation known as the “Yaoundé architecture”. For Albara, who also cites drug trafficking, “tackling illegal fishing is one of our main priorities right now because of the benefits it can have for our economies and for food security.” Vice Admiral Olivier Lebas, commander of the Atlantic Maritime Zone for the French Navy, for his part confirmed that we are not going to focus on the fight against piracy, which is very fashionable here.”