On the 3 to 7 June 2024 in Luanda, Angola the second training for the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Coordination Centre’s (MCSCC) SADC Atlantic project took place for Fisheries Inspectors. The training was for officials from the Fisheries Monitoring Centre (FMC) and also officials from other key fisheries ports and locations around Angola. The training was provided in cooperation with the National Directorate of Fisheries and Aquaculture who are taking strong steps to improve their oversight in Angolan ports.

The SIF team was represented by JD Kotze and Noa Senete, who provided training on different topics related to implementing port State measures and developing capacity towards the MCSCC’s envisioned Regional Register of Fishing Vessels (RRFV). This included capacity building, interagency cooperation, risk assessment and inspection procedures. Risk assessment in fisheries is a process aimed at identifying, evaluating and validating information about a vessel and its owner/operator, to determine the level of potential risk associated with the vessel. When done well, these procedures reduce the chances of giving port access and services, providing licenses or registering high-risk vessels to a vessel that has engaged in illegal activity and thus protects the country, the fishery and the market from the illegal operators and illegally caught fish.

Angola’s commitment to building the capacity of their inspectors is making tangible differences in their work, with three recent cases of fines issued to illegal operators. The Inspectors are also now actively engaging in the communications mechanism of the MCSCC and regularly exchanging intelligence information with other SADC countries. Together the SADC countries are uniting through the MCSCC to block regional ports to illegally caught fish and illegal operators.