The Marine Megafauna Week on Marine Turtle Conservation Measures (CMS) will take place in Saly, Senegal from 4 to 7 September 2023 as part of the Marine Turtle Monitoring in West Africa project (STM) implemented by PRCM.

Multiple meetings will happen throughout the week, with an estimated fifty attendees coming from over twenty-six countries in Africa and Europe.

The first two days will focus on the 3rd Meeting of the Signatories to the CMS Abidjan Memorandum of Understanding on Marine Turtles and the Consultation on a conservation and management strategy for sharks and rays in the Gulf of Guinea region. This will provide an opportunity to examine current information on the conservation status of marine turtles in the region, discuss the challenges and opportunities in the region, and reach an agreement on a conservation and management plan. Furthermore, a conservation and management strategy for the sharks and rays in the Gulf of Guinea region, currently under development, will be presented for adoption.

During the last two days of the event, delegates from the Member States will convene to discuss the formulation and adoption of two action plans: one aimed at conserving dolphins and the other focused on combating the harvesting of wild aquatic meat in West Africa.

The Megafauna Week is jointly organised by the Regional Partnership for Coastal and Marine Conservation in West Africa (PRCM), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Senegalese Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development.

As a reminder, the CMS provides a global platform for the conservation and sustainable use of migratory animals and their habitats. It brings together the countries through which migratory animals pass, known as range states, and provides the legal basis for internationally coordinated conservation measures across a migratory range.