West African countries are reclaiming control of their marine ecosystems, which hold some of the world’s most valuable ocean resources, after decades of weak oversight and external exploitation.
A proposed High Seas Marine Protected Area by the Economic Community of West African States shifts the region from fragmented national enforcement to coordinated regional control of shared waters and the value they generate.
Sikeade Egbuwalo, the high seas lead at Nigeria’s Federal Ministry of Environment says, “There are a lot of countries outside our region that are the ones benefiting from that particular ecosystem we are planning to designate.
“We feel the injustice has been going on for a while, and a few powerful actors have dominated our sea. It’s time for us to sit at that table and start demanding. This treaty has given us the chance to correct that imbalance.”
The entry into force of the High Seas Treaty in January 2026 has created the legal pathway for this shift.
“The entry into force of the agreement marks a new chapter in ocean governance,” according to the United Nations.
Formally known as the Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdiction agreement, the treaty establishes the first legally binding framework to manage and protect marine biodiversity in areas beyond national borders, which account for roughly two-thirds of the global ocean.
By turning previously unregulated waters into a governed space, the treaty allows regional blocs such as ECOWAS to act collectively rather than individually, creating a basis for coordinated control over shared marine resources.
Of the 85 countries that had ratified the High Seas Treaty, as of February 2026, 17 were African, with another 17 having signed. The numbers underscore Africa’s active participation in defining global ocean governance.
That shift is particularly significant in West Africa, where some of the Atlantic’s most productive fishing grounds remain weakly governed despite their economic importance.
The proposed area spans the convergence of the Canary Current and the Guinea Current, two large marine ecosystems each covering more than 200,000 square kilometres of coastal ocean.
The zone also serves as a key migration corridor, supporting the movement of large fish, sharks, and rays while linking long-distance routes between the North and South Atlantic.
However, the same ecological richness has made the region a focal point for illegal and unregulated fishing, exposing the limits of policing maritime boundaries at a national level.
A 2022 report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature shows that at least 16,000 square kilometres of marine areas in West Africa were under protection as of 2022. Where protections exist, enforcement remains limited, with few penalties for violations, creating space for illegal activity, particularly by distant-water fleets.
Researchers estimate that West Africa is losing between $2.3-billion and $3.3-billion annually to illegal fishing, excluding downstream value addition, while only about $13-million is recovered through monitoring, control, and surveillance systems, according to the Media Observatory on Sustainable Fisheries in Africa.
Other assessments place the scale of losses significantly higher. The African Defense Forum reports that the region could be losing up to $9.4-billion annually, driven in part by distant-water fleets, including those from China, which operates the world’s largest such fleet and ranks among the highest-risk actors for illegal fishing, according to the IUU Fishing Risk Index. – Bird Story Agency
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- West African countries, through the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), are moving from fragmented national enforcement to coordinated regional control of valuable marine ecosystems by proposing a High Seas Marine Protected Area.
- The High Seas Treaty, entering into force in January 2026, provides a legally binding framework for managing and protecting marine biodiversity beyond national jurisdictions, enabling regional blocs like ECOWAS to collectively govern shared waters.
- The proposed protected area spans over 400,000 square kilometers at the convergence of the Canary and Guinea Currents, crucial for migratory species and economically important fisheries but historically weakly governed and exploited by foreign fleets.
- Illegal fishing causes West Africa to lose an estimated $2.3 to $9.4 billion annually, mainly due to distant-water fleets including those from China, with limited enforcement and penalties worsening the problem.
- With 17 African countries having ratified the High Seas Treaty and another 17 signed, Africa shows active engagement in global ocean governance, aiming to rectify longstanding injustices and better protect its marine resources.
