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SADC ATLANTIC Working Group makes key recommendations to advance implementation of the Regional Register of Fishing Vessels
On 15-16 September, Namibia hosted the final risk assessment Working Group meeting of the SADC ATLANTIC Project in Walvis Bay. This Working Group builds on the results of three years of project, during which monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) officers from Angola, Namibia and South Africa have been applying standardised risk assessment, with the goal of advancing harmonised procedures across the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region. These procedures are based on shared standards, information exchange and regional cooperation, which grew since the beginning of SADC ATLANTIC, both amongst the countries, and between them and the SADC Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Coordination Centre (MCSCC). The Working Group concluded with key recommendations to advance implementation of functions of the SADC MCSCC, which will be presented at the next meeting of the MCSCC Operational Task Force.
Since 2022, SIF has been working with the SADC MCSCC, together with the Benguela Current Convention (BCC) countries, Angola, Namibia and South Africa, to implement the SADC ATLANTIC Project. The Project was funded by the United States Department from September 2022 to September 2025. SADC ATLANTIC focused on supporting MCS officers in the three countries to enhance their capacity to anticipate risks of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing by fishing vessels seeking entry into their ports, and to take actions in case risk is identified. This involved building capacity at national level, whilst strengthening regional cooperation through the MCSCC.
Both national and regional levels are complementary for effective action against IUU fishing.
Enhanced national MCS capacity. SADC ATLANTIC has demonstrated that risk-based procedures can effectively assess whether foreign fishing vessels may have been involved in illegal activities, giving national MCS officers sufficient information and resources to act when risk has been identified. For this, national MCS officers have been applying a systematic methodology for risk assessment, based on determined indicators and criteria assessments. When risk was identified, MCS officers were able to make informed recommendations on whether to allow port access and services to fishing vessels. Throughout the Project, MCS officers grew more confident in their assessment, and increasingly resorted to delaying port access or port services to fishing vessels, until an inspection was conducted, to verify the anticipated risks. Thanks to the integration of those risk assessments into national work routine, 290 risk assessments were conducted on fishing vessels calling into port in the BCC region.
Stronger regional cooperation through the MCSCC. The establishment of the MCSCC is the culmination of two decades of regional commitments by SADC Ministers in charge of fisheries, based on the realisation that IUU fishing is a complex and global threat, which cannot be eliminated by individual countries alone. Foreign fishing vessels operate beyond borders, often created following complex international ownership structures. Effective risk assessment of those vessels requires access to information, and capacity to analyse it. The MCSCC was established to facilitate information exchange about fishing vessel activities in the region, and to investigate risks when identified. The SADC ATLANTIC therefore had the objective to help Angola, Namibia and South Africa fully exploit the opportunity represented by the MCSCC, by supporting better communication amongst the three countries, and by strengthening their engagement in the implementation of the SADC MCSCC. Throughout the Project, the three countries have become drivers of regional communication and information-sharing through the MCSCC.
“Cooperation between Namibia and Angola on fisheries MCS has improved significantly with the SADC ATLANTIC Project” stated Hafeni Mungungu, Director of Fisheries Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Land Reform, as he encouraged efforts to continue beyond the Project.
The aim of the Working Group was to capitalise on the learnings and the achievements of SADC ATLANTIC at national and regional levels, to recommend the use of the risk assessment methodology as a regional tool implemented by the MCSCC. During the meeting, Angola’s and Namibia’s MCS officers brought together their experience to fine tune and agree on a common methodology for risk assessment, based on shared standards and tools, which will be presented at the next MCSCC Operational Task Force.
Through this risk assessment methodology, the three countries are contributing to the development of the Regional Register of Fishing Vessels (RRFV), a key function of the MCSCC. More than just a list, it is envisioned that the RRFV will serve as a comprehensive compliance and oversight tool coordinated by the MCSCC, underpinned by harmonised minimum standards. Already in early 2025, the SADC Atlantic initiative provided the analysis and evidence needed to support the development of the Code for the Establishment and Implementation of the SADC RRFV – known as the MCSCC RRFV Code, which was adopted by Ministers in charge of fisheries in May 2025. By recommending a regionally harmonised risk assessment tool, the SADC ATLANTIC countries are now contributing to implementing the RRFV Code, giving the region tools to monitor authorised fishing vessels and addressing IUU fishing.