One year after the first technical training for MCS officers that focussed on risk assessments and inspections under the SADC Atlantic Project, the project team was back in Namibia in March 2024 for another round of capacity-building workshops in Walvis Bay and Lüderitz. This was the occasion to build on the results and progress achieved by MCS officers throughout the past year, thanks to the continuous in-person and remote mentoring provided under the project; and to take the officers one step forward in integrating best practices into standardised and systematic processes.

“SADC Atlantic has, through training and mentoring, provided us with more professionalism and confidence in our work” – reported Malcolm Block, Chief Fisheries Inspector, at the inaugural meeting of the MCSCC Operational Task Force, which took place in December 2023 in Cape Town. Since technical support started in May 2023 – with a focus on building the capacities of MCS officers in Walvis Bay and Lüderitz to assess risks of fishing vessels and improve inspections – the Namibian fisheries officers have systematically been applying newly acquired MCS tools and techniques to foreign fishing vessels requesting entry into their port. So far, 30 risk assessments and inspections have been conducted, supported by remote coaching from Stop Illegal Fishing. This has also resulted in growing and impactful involvement of Namibian MCS officials on the MCSCC Communication Platform – with enhanced intelligence-sharing, both for requesting information to inform national decision-making and providing valuable intelligence to other countries in the region.

A second physical workshop was organised on 13-15 May and 18-20 May in Walvis Bay and Lüderitz, to consolidate these achievements and focus on other priorities identified with the fisheries staff and management at the beginning of the project. Because both ports and officers work in different contexts and experience different challenges, the project team adapted the training to the needs expressed by the participants on the ground.

In Walvis Bay, the training focussed on replicating the learnings with fisheries inspectors who had not participated in the first training, to raise awareness on the importance of risk assessments to support and target inspections. Through practical risk assessment exercises and inspections in port, inspectors understood the value of increased communication with the Fisheries Monitoring Centre (FMC) in charge of risk assessments for vessels requesting entry into port – and made recommendations to strengthen this bilateral cooperation.

Whilst the mentoring provided to Walvis Bay’s officers has so far focussed on supporting risk assessments of foreign fishing vessels requesting entry into port, the context is different in Lüderitz, where most of the fishing vessels coming to port are flagged in Namibia. However, national vessel does not mean no risk. When conducting risk assessments on random Namibian-flagged vessels seeking entry into port for offloading, Lüderitz’s fisheries inspectors and observers discovered indications of suspicious vessel activity, which they would not have suspected on a national vessel. An eye-opening exercise. “The seriousness with which you take risk assessments shows how committed you are to your work”, said one of the participants. On their request, the project team also provided targeted support on the drafting of statements, after infractions are detected. Improving the capacity of MCS officers to write statements is essential to support successful prosecutions and ensure they will not be challenged in court.

In both ports, the training was concluded by a vessel inspection in port using a body-worn camera. In May 2023, both Walvis Bay and Lüderitz were provided with cameras to be used for inspection trainings. If tested successfully, it would be the goal to integrate them into national MCS processes. One day after the last day of training in Lüderitz, the inspectors had already been instructed to wear the body-worn camera during their on-foot patrols.

After this workshop, SIF will continue working closely with Walvis Bay and Lüderitz officers through remote coaching and mentoring. As a next step, focus will be set on elaborating standard operating procedures (SOPs), to provide MCS officers with an enabling framework for their work, with clear and systematic processes. Participants also reckoned that for such processes to be successful, cooperation with other relevant agencies and institutions such as the port authorities (Namport) will be necessary and therefore interagency cooperation will also be a priority for the way forward.