At Our Ocean 2017, Elsa da Gloria Pátria, Chairperson of Stop Illegal Fishing announced, on behalf of the FISH-i Africa Task Force, to launch a programme of VIGILANCE in the Western Indian Ocean.

VIGILANCE will be a robust assessment of all industrial fishing vessels licensed to fish by FISH-i members to assess the legality of their identity, history, ownership and management. This is in response to the systematic illegalities and criminal offences identified by FISH-i Africa investigations.

This commitment will cover around 500 fishing vessels and will be completed by 2022, and is supported by the FISH-i Africa operational Task Force drawn from the eight member countries of Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles, Somalia and the United Republic of Tanzania.

Nicholas Ntheketha, Chair of FISH-i Africa welcomed the announcement, “the cooperative mechanisms established by FISH-i, and the investigations undertaken have brought real benefits to the region and a much improved understanding of the methods used by the illegal operators active in the fisheries sector of the Western Indian Ocean. This programme of VIGILANCE gives the region a real chance to identify those who are not abiding by the regulations and laws that are in place to protect our fisheries and our economies.”

Read the full Our Ocean 2017 commitments here.