Award Winning

IMCS Network‘s Stop IUU Fishing Award Contest, 3rd place

The award ceremony took place at the Fourth Global Fisheries Enforcement Training Workshop (GFETW) in Costa Rica. Stop Illegal Fishing Chairperson Geofrey Nanyaro and Coordinator Per Erik Bergh accepted the award on behalf of all those who have contributed to the success of Stop Illegal Fishing over the last seven years.
Stop Illegal Fishing was acknowledged as being effective in coordinating approaches, influencing policies, building capacity and providing tools and strategies required to tackle illegal fishing at national, regional and international levels. It was noted that partnerships with governments, regional and continental organisations, civil society, monitoring control and surveillance practitioners, NGOs, intergovernmental organisations and the fishing industry have put Stop Illegal Fishing in a unique position to facilitate actions against illegal fishing.

Margarita Lizárraga Medal 2014-2015

Awarded biennially by the FAO, the award recognises those who have served with distinction in the application of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.
SIF’s achievements were described as ‘outstanding, practical, tangible and sustainable as well as catalytic’ by Árni M. Mathiesen, Assistant Director-General, Fisheries and Aquaculture Department of the FAO.
Speaking at the award ceremony Per Erik Bergh, SIF Coordinator, highlighted the work of the FISH-i Africa Task Force, ‘our work with FISH-i has demonstrated that some of the ugliest, most destructive organised crimes against humanity and the environment occur in the fisheries sector. To fight this, we do not compete with, or replace, any government, inter-governmental or NGO process – we add value. We tap into an additional energy and network to support these processes.’
‘We have always been guided by the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, and therefore the recognition offered by this Medal is extremely important to us, it has inspired us, we are proud.’
On awarding the Medal the FAO stated that ‘SIF was selected in recognition of an excellent African example of what can be achieved to stop IUU fishing by demonstrating that a lot can be accomplished with relatively small resources through good networking, the sharing of information, regional and international cooperation, and a strong commitment to stop IUU fishing.’
SIF dedicated the award to Geofrey Nanyaro, our founding Chairperson who sadly passed away earlier in 2015. ‘Geofrey embodied the qualities that make SIF a success. He was an inspirational man of great integrity who was prepared to stand up for fairness and justice.’

Seafood Champion Award for Innovation

The Seafood Champion Awards have been presented annually since 2006 to global leaders and organisations that have shown exceptional commitment to advancing seafood sustainability and ocean health. These awards recognize that improving the sustainability of seafood involves addressing complex political, technical, social, and economic challenges. Creating meaningful change requires building alliances and uniting people around a common cause, which can be quite difficult.

In 2017, FISH-i Africa, an initiative of Stop Illegal Fishing received the Seafood Champion Award for Innovation. This program was awarded for its efforts in sharing vital information and taking collective enforcement actions against large-scale illegal fishing. FISH-i Africa’s series of investigations and prosecutions has effectively deterred illegal activities and encouraged legitimate operators in the industry.
While accepting the award, a representative from Stop Illegal Fishing stated, “FISH-i Africa is delighted to be the Seafood Champion for Innovation, 2017. Developing countries are often perceived as powerless to prevent illegal fishing within their waters. However, FISH-i has challenged this perception by proving that, with a low-cost solution, these countries can achieve significant change when united.”
The organisation further emphasised, “This award recognises all the Task Force members who have been willing to take a different approach, work collaboratively with their neighbours, and tackle the challenge of stopping illegal fishing. Illegal fishing undermines sustainability efforts and is a matter of concern for everyone involved in the seafood industry. We hope this award will help FISH-i expand its network and collaborate more closely with the seafood industry to enhance transparency and sustainability.”