SIF welcomes new Chairperson Elsa Pátria

By Stop Illegal Fishing:18th Oct, 2016:

Stop Illegal Fishing is delighted to welcome Elsa Pátria as our new Chairperson.

Elsa brings a wealth of experience, enthusiasm and commitment to the role of Stop Illegal Fishing Chair. Elsa started her career working in fisheries monitoring and control in her native Mozambique. And has worked with the Stop Illegal Fishing Secretariat on both operational and administrative matters. Elsa’s’ experience includes working for government, private and NGO sectors and includes extensive travel experience throughout Africa.

Elsa is Stop Illegal Fishing’s second Chairperson, the position was previously held by the inaugural Chairperson the late, Mr Geofrey Nanyaro.

Letter from Elsa da Gloria Pátria, Chairperson of Stop Illegal Fishing

At Stop Illegal Fishing our primary purpose is to strengthen cooperation and coordination between governments and partners and to support processes to stop illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing across African waters. In the last decades we have seen the devastating impacts that illegal fishing has in Africa and we are aware that it is only through its eradication that as African nations, we will enjoy the full benefits of stable and increased revenues, employment and nutrition from our fishery resources. This is paramount to the realisation of the 2030 UN sustainable development goals especially goal 1 of ending poverty; goal 2 of ending hunger; goal 3 regarding healthy lives; goal 8 on sustained economic growth and goal 14 about life below waters.

At Stop Illegal Fishing we believe in the benefits of working together to apply a both tried and tested as well as innovative approaches to stopping crime in the fishery sector. In 2012, when we joined forces with coastal states of the Southwest Indian Ocean and The Pew Charitable Trusts to launch the FISH-i Africa Task Force we were able to apply this approach. It has been a challenging three and a half years, we have faced both success and failure, but without doubt the FISH-i Africa Task Force has demonstrated that as African countries we can work together, share resources, pool intelligence, and build systematic approaches to bring illegal operators to justice.

In addition to the actions taken against illegal operators, this initiative has immensely contributed to capacity building within the continent. It has been exciting to see the improved knowledge and understanding about illegal fishing operations, this new insight is based on evidence drawn from the experiences of the Task Force and is now being used to provide lesson learning and to guide our African Voice and policy processes.

Stop Illegal Fishing has welcomed the ongoing cooperation with the African Union and the NEPAD Agency in the pan-African fight against illegal fishing and has been particularly pleased to see the model of FISH-i Africa being adopted in West Africa. The West African Task Force unites the six member countries of the Fisheries Committee for West Central Gulf of Guinea to work together against illegal fishing and FISH-i Africa has enjoyed a cooperative partnership with this group. Increasing the coverage of this network of Task Forces across the continent is key to closing opportunities for illegal operators. We warmly invite more regions of Africa into this network in order to safeguard our continent’s marine resources for the benefit present and future generations.

Over the coming months I will be looking to build on the existing relationships and partnerships that Stop Illegal Fishing has within Africa and internationally in order to make our work more effective. We know there are no simple solutions to stopping illegal fishing, but by working together we can make a difference.

I look forward to working with you in the fight to stop illegal fishing

Elsa da Gloria Pátria

Chairperson of Stop Illegal Fishing

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SIF News Categories

The Issues

One in four fish in Africa is caught illegally, this threatens the sustainability of fish stocks, damages the ecosystem and deprives governments of income and people of livelihoods.

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Our Approach

Creating change by informing policy and practice, our hands on experience and investigative work means we are often the first to spot new trends and find ways to challenge these.

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Our Initiatives

Illegal fishing is a complex issue that requires multifaceted responses. Stop Illegal Fishing are working with a range of organisations to bring about change.

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