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After Windhoek. SADC Statement of Commitment: from words into action…

SADC Statement of Commitment on IUU fishing, progress of implementation and Stop Illegal Fishing engagement.

 

The Stop Illegal Fishing Programme (SIF) during 2007 and 2008 assisted the SADC Secretariat and countries to elaborate the SADC Statement of Commitment on IUU fishing that was signed in Windhoek, Namibia on the 4th July 2008 by Ministers responsible for fisheries in SADC coastal States. This moved Southern Africa a step further in the fight to combat illegal activities in the fisheries sector.

 

The conference firmly classified Illegal fishing as a crime; a crime that violates development efforts aimed at improving the livelihoods of fishing communities and the legitimate work of the fishing industry. This crime robs future generations of the benefits derived from well managed fisheries and a healthy ocean environment as well as depriving governments, legal fishers and traders of income.

 

The SADC Secretariat convened the Conference with the support of the UK government. This course of action harnessed a wide range of support in the process leading up to the Conference that culminated in key players involved in the fishery sector making Statements of Support at the Conference, these included; the non-SADC neighbouring countries; the civil society and non-governmental organisations; the regional fisheries programmes; the fishing industry; and the countries of the UK and Norway.

 

Various aspects of IUU activities and the ways for fighting them both in the SADC region and the rest of the world were exposed and discussed during the meeting. Specialists of the sector insisting on the fact that globalisation of the fisheries market offers multiple possibilities for IUU operators to develop their criminal activities along the entire chain of custody, from the fishing grounds up to the final markets, the consumers.

 

The priority areas identified for urgent attention were specified as the need for;

 

    • Strengthened fisheries monitoring control and surveillance capacity and capability;

 

    • Improved regional and inter-regional cooperation;

 

    • Strengthened fisheries governance and legal frameworks; and

 

  • Engaging all those involved in the chain of custody

 

The Ministries agreed on several clear objectives considered to be essential, these will be presented to SADC Council and Summit for consideration, approval and eventual signature by the Heads of State and Governments.

 

In the Statement of Commitment the Ministers directed their officials to identify practical ways to implement their commitments by developing a plan of action by June 2009. In the mean time, some Ministers and their officials have made an exceptional stance in showing their commitment to their words and taking firm action against illegal fishing. These actions include:

 

July 2008 Mozambique

 

Mozambican authorities seize the ‘Antillas Reefer’ in Mozambican waters. Fishing inspectors found on board shark products with a total value of around US$5 million, the ship was unlicensed, taking illegal species, using banned gear. Mozambique‚ Fisheries Ministry imposed a fine of US$4.5 million on the ship’s owners, and confiscated the ship and everything on board.

 

July 2008 Tanzania

 

Tanzania Fisheries Minister announced that licences held by 69 registered foreign fishing vessels operating in the Indian Ocean would be cancelled to control unregulated fishing. Together with the Zanzibar government the military will be used to fight illegal trawlers and those who abuse their fishing licences. He said that most ships allegedly under-declare their capacities by up to 500 tonnes. The Minister said the Government is well prepared to enforce the new rules, and warned officers working in cahoots with foreign fishing boats to stop immediately.

 

July 2008 Namibia

 

Namibia demonstrates increased transparency over flag state matters by deflagging the Paloma V after it has been implicated in illegal fishing in New Zealand in May 2008.

 

September 2008 Tanzania

 

The Tanzanian government increased fishing license fees for foreign vessels and introduced a raft of measures designed to curb illegal fishing. Measures affecting foreign owned vessels fishing within the EEZ include: a monitoring system connected to the Fisheries Department; a ban on dumping of bycatch at sea, unwanted fish must be bought to port for local sale; an observer is to be present in all fishing trips; employment of at least three Tanzanians.

 

October 2008 Madagascar

 

A Senegalese fishing vessel, ‘El Amine’, has been arrested in Madagascar for illegal fishing, with 33 tons of processed shark products and 1.5 ton of lobsters on board. The vessel didn’t have any fishing license, but only a fishing authorisation delivered by the Director of Fisheries, as part of an agreement between Madagascar and the enterprise Deper France, covering other species than those caught by the vessel. From documents found on board, it seems the vessel reflagged several times: it was first under a Spanish flag, then reflagged to Namibia and finally reflagged to Senegal. All the processed products found on board were carrying the label Soperka, a Spanish enterprise that is also the owner of the boat.

 

March 2009 Tanzania

 

Tanzania may have been losing billions of dollars from foreign illegal fishing vessels that have been catching tuna fish in its exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Recent arrest of a flagless foreign boat some 100 miles off the Tanzanian coast, with 70 tonnes of tuna fish worth an estimated US$900,000, is an example of what has been happening for many years. Police said if found guilty, the ship could face a fine of up to $20 million. The ship was seized in a joint operation lead by South Africa, Mozambique, Kenya and Tanzania in the spirit of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) co-operation. This incident comes in the wake of a SADC agreement by ministers responsible for marine fisheries last July to co-operate in joint patrols of the EEZ of member states bordering the Indian Ocean.

 

In April 2009, with the funding of the Partnership for African Fisheries (PAF), the SADC convened a working group in Maputo, Mozambique attended by Angola; Democratic Republic of Congo; Lesotho; Malawi; Mozambique; Namibia; Republic of Tanzania; South Africa; and  Zimbabwe. The meeting was in additionally attended by FAO, NEPAD, PEW Charitable Trust and SADC. The group was gathered to prepare an action plan for the execution of the SADC Statement of Commitment on IUU fishing with priorities for implementation. This action, plan once endorsed by SADC officials, will map the way forward for further efforts by the SADC Secretariat to support the countries in implementing actions.

 

The Stop Illegal Fishing Programme will continue their work across African to support the fight to stop illegal fishing and through this continue to work with the SADC countries and the SADC Secretariat to support the practical implementation of the Action Plan in areas of mutual interest.

 

The Stop Illegal Fishing Programme Working Group will offer the opportunity over five years to cooperate on issues such as:

 

    • Studies on increasing knowledge e.g. in relation to port State measures, information systems (such as VMS), legislative harmonization, training and capacity building etc.

 

    • Exchanges and lesson learning for example between countries and regions through work-shops.

 

    • Information exchange for example to strengthen implementation of Port State Agreement

 

    • Development of policy and strategies to better combat IUU fishing for example NPOA-IUU and RPOA-IUU.

 

    • Technical assistance when required

 

  • Support to inland and small scale fisheries