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A tribute to two Stop Illegal Fishing champions
Stop Illegal Fishing would like to congratulate and warmly welcome the arrival of Hon. Agostinho Salvador Mondlane and the Hon. Wallace Cosgrow as the new ministers responsible for fisheries in Mozambique and the Seychelles respectively. The Hon. Agostinho Salvador Mondlane moved from the Ministry of Defence to lead the newly formed Ministry of the Sea, Inland Waters and Fisheries while the Hon. Wallace Cosgrow, formerly the Chief Executive of the Social Protection Agency, now heads the also newly formed Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture. The new Ministers succeed the Hon. Victor Borges from Mozambique and the Hon. Peter Sinon from Seychelles.
The Hon. Victor Manuel Borges was previously Deputy Minister of Fisheries and succeeded The Hon. Cadmiel Mutemba, continuing his legacy by taking a strong stance against IUU fishing. During his tenure he approved and supported the SADC Regional Fisheries MCS Coordination Centre initiative, offering to host it in his country. He also ensured that Mozambique became 30th member of the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) and the third African country to ratify the FAO Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA), showing national and regional leadership in the fight against unsustainable and illegal fishing practices. In January Hon. Victor Borges was appointed by Mozambican President Filipe Nyusi as the Governor of the Nampula Province.
The Hon. Peter Sinon was appointed as Minister for Investment, Natural Resources and Industry in 2010 succeeding his predecessor the Hon Minister Joel Morgan. An expert in economics, he was previously the Advisor and Executive Director for Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Seychelles, Tanzania and Uganda at the African Development Bank (ADB). The minister has maintained a consistently strong stance against illegal fishing practices and he launched the successful initiative, FISH-i Africa, in his home country in late 2012. In early 2013, under Minister Sinon’s leadership, the Seychelles denied port access to suspected IUU fishing vessel the F/V Premier, and shortly after that completed their ratification of the FAO PSMA. The Minister was a true ambassador in the fight to protect the ‘blue gold’, and he spoke in several international forums where he called for cooperation and unified action both regionally and internationally. Hon. Peter Sinon has been appointed as Deputy Secretary General of Parti Lepep.
Picture credit: Stop Illegal Fishing