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Stop Illegal Fishing awarded the Margarita Lizárraga Medal

Stop Illegal Fishing are delighted to announce that they have been awarded the 2014-2015 Margarita Liz¡rraga Medal, awarded biennially by the FAO, the award recognizes those who have served with distinction in the application of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.

SIF’s achievements were described as ‘outstanding, practical, tangible and sustainable as well as catalytic’ by rni M. Mathiesen, Assistant Director-General, Fisheries and Aquaculture Department of the FAO. Speaking at the award ceremony Per Erik Bergh, SIF Coordinator, highlighted the work of the FISH-i Africa Task Force, our work with FISH-i has demonstrated that some of the ugliest, most destructive organised crimes against humanity and the environment occur in the fisheries sector. To fight this, we do not compete with, or replace, any government, inter-governmental or NGO process ‚we add value. We tap into an additional energy and network to support these processes.’

We have always been guided by the FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries, and therefore the recognition offered by this Medal is extremely important to us, it has inspired us, we are proud.’

On awarding the Medal the FAO stated that ‘SIF was selected in recognition of an excellent African example of what can be achieved to stop IUU fishing by demonstrating that a lot can be accomplished with relatively small resources through good networking, the sharing of information, regional and international cooperation, and a strong commitment to stop IUU fishing.’

SIF has dedicated the award to Geofrey Nanyaro, our founding Chairperson who sadly passed away earlier this year. Geofrey embodied the qualities that make SIF a success. He was an inspirational man of great integrity who was prepared to stand up for fairness and justice.’