Globally, the maritime fishing is characterized by overexploitation of resources available in the various fisheries have major impacts on the marine and coastal ecosystems. This overfishing is facilitated by advances in technology and consumer demand steadily increasing, especially in developed countries. To cope with this development, policies for sustainable management of fisheries resources are gradually implemented, ranging from conventional approaches (management pf exploited stocks) to the fisheries ecosystem approach with promotes reconciliation and sustainable conservation of the ecosystem. Our thesis addresses the conditions for the development of such a sustainable management of fisheries in the specific case of province of the Estuary ans the Maritime Ogooué in Gabon. The diagnosis revealed a disordely exploitation of fisheries resources and a general deterioration of the state of coastal ecosystems, requiring measures to adjust fishing pressure. However, many gaps remain (sustainable policies, training of stakeholders, assessment of resources and ecosytems, etc...) for a better understanding and a more rigourous monitoring of mutations that affect the sustainability of fisheries and the overall vulnerability of coastal ecosystems. In these two provinces of Gabon, we show that the application of the ecosystem approach of fisheries, taking the form of collaborative governance in the fisheries and aquaculture appears as a necessity to give the sector a place in this country.
