On 20 February 2024 in Luanda, the Angolan Minister for Fisheries and Marine Resources, H.E. Carmen dos Santos, officially launched the activities of SADC Atlantic in Angola. In the presence of representatives of the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the SADC Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Coordination Centre (MCSCC) and the US Embassy in Angola, H.E. Carmen dos Santos emphasised the Angola’s commitment to regional cooperation against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing – “a serious concern for the country”. She also welcomed the opportunity provided by the SADC Atlantic project to national MCS officers to build their capacity and acquire new skills and tools to stop IUU fishing. This launch also marked the beginning of the training of 50 monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) officers by Stop Illegal Fishing and the MCSCC, which started in Luanda and then Lobito directly after the project launch with a focus on risk assessment of fishing vessels.

The SADC Atlantic Project has achieved significant results since it began in September 2022, particularly in respect to the training of MCS officers in Namibia and South Africa. With the official launch of the project in Angola, the Minister for Fisheries and Marine Resources, H.E. Carmen dos Santos, opened the way for similar capacity-building measures in the country. Capacity building will include trainings to enhance the capacities of MCS officers to analyse risks of fishing vessels, and to improve procedures for validating the risk assessments through inspections. MCS officers will also be supported in engaging further with the MCSCC to fully exploit the potential of regional cooperation and exchange of information to tackle IUU fishing risks in their waters.

The benefits of intelligence sharing on vessel activity has already proven itself. Thanks to the remote monitoring support of the region’s waters conducted by the MCSCC, the Centre has played a critical role in alerting Angola of suspicious vessel activities in its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and at the border with Namibia. The MCSCC also facilitated communication beyond the region, with West Africa, to cross-check information on activities of reefers transporting horse mackerel fished in Angola to Ghana. By sharing the information provided by the vessel in Ghana, Angola identified cases of document forgery.

“Knowledge is power” – this is the motto promoted by Stop Illegal Fishing during the training, which the participants are now well aware of.

The initial workshops conducted in Luanda and Lobito in February 2024 for 50 MCS officers have raised awareness on the power that the MCSCC network is providing to SADC Member States to help them ensure that vessels operating in their waters are playing by their rules.

The participants have also understood the key role they can play in helping their country fight IUU fishing activities and have expressed their wish for more support to apply these new approaches and procedures into their work. After an introduction to various instruments that can be used to anticipate and take action against vessels considered potentially to be at risk of having engaged in IUU fishing activity, further coaching and remote monitoring will continue to consolidate these skills and integrate the newly acquired tools and knowledge into MCS routine processes. Fisheries inspectors will benefit from remote mentoring in conducting inspections, which will be facilitated through the use of two body-worn cameras during remote inspection trainings. These cameras were handed over to the Minister by the US Embassy in Angola, as part of the project SADC Atlantic. If successful, such cameras could be mainstreamed into routine procedures for inspection.

“This is the right moment to join forces, to share knowledge and work together to reach our common objectives. This project aims to guarantee the adoption of better practices, contributing to mitigating the damages caused by IUU fishing”, said H.E. Carmen dos Santos at the launch of SADC Atlantic, as she encouraged Angolan MCS officers to engage fully in the trainings.