At the 36th Committee on Fisheries (COFI) meeting Stop Illegal Fishing (SIF) joined various African member states in their ongoing efforts to combat Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing in Africa. This biannual meeting, convened by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), brought together global stakeholders to address pressing issues in fisheries management.

Stop Illegal Fishing represented by Sandy Davies and Maya Bergh emphasised its collaborative work with governments and international organisations over the past two decades during their intervention in the session on combating IUU fishing. Noting that SIF has been instrumental in developing Regional Monitoring, Control, and Surveillance (MCS) Centres, particularly the SADC Centre in Mozambique and the FCWC Centre in Ghana. These centres play a crucial role in harmonising operational procedures among countries, improving transparency, combating corruption, and providing evidence to inform policy changes. Therefore, SIF encouraged COFI member states and the FAO to align their work with the African Regional MCS Centres. Highlighting that “by working together, we can provide meaningful support to combat IUU fishing, ensuring sustainable fisheries management”.

The COFI session dedicated to combating IUU fishing featured robust discussions on enhancing MCS capabilities. Delegates acknowledged the importance of MCS in reducing IUU fishing and called for it to remain a permanent agenda item. Key points included:

• Active implementation of international agreements and guidelines to address IUU fishing by member states.
• Recognition of the severe impacts of IUU fishing, prioritising efforts to combat it.
• Welcoming new guidance from the COFI Secretariat on estimating IUU fishing, evaluating performance, and assessing impacts.
• Increased adherence to the Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA) and encouragement for further participation.
• Noting the launch of the PSMA Global Information Exchange System (GIES) pilot phase, emphasising the importance of its full deployment and integration with existing systems.
• Highlighting FAO’s role in combating IUU fishing, commending its technical assistance and capacity-building efforts.
• Urging support for initiatives like the FAO Global Record and Voluntary Guidelines for Catch Documentation Schemes.
• Welcoming the recent WTO agreement on fisheries subsidies aimed at eliminating support for IUU fishing.
• Endorsing new instruments like the Voluntary Guidelines for Transshipment and revised terms for the Joint FAO/ILO/IMO Working Group on IUU Fishing.
• Calling for updated standards on fishing vessel marking and emphasising compliance responsibilities for flag, port, coastal, and market states.
• Encouraging awareness-raising efforts at regional and local levels to highlight the societal impact of IUU fishing.

The COFI meeting concluded with a reinforced commitment to international cooperation and capacity building, essential for the effective reduction of IUU fishing. As the fight against IUU fishing continues, organisations like Stop Illegal Fishing remain at the forefront, advocating for stronger regional coordination and enhanced transparency in fisheries governance.