News
The African Group Statement on combating IUU fishing at the 30th Session of COFI
Members of the Stop Illegal Fishing network had another active year at the 30th Session of the FAO Committee on Fisheries (COFI) held in Rome from 9th to 13th July 2012. Members of the SIF network supported the African Members of COFI to prepare an Africa Group Statement on IUU fishing that was presented by the Minister of Investment, Natural Resources and Industry of the Seychelles, the Hon. Peter Sinon on Wednesday afternoon under the agenda item on combating IUU fishing.
The African Statement was supported by ten African COFI Members, many of whom also supported the Statements of other African countries and added extra support and information to the Statement.
"The Group of African Countries support global efforts to address Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing a problem that plagues our countries. We note that in the last years African countries have been working in partnership with international players to curb IUU fishing and we have had some level of success that we will continue to build on. However, we also note the need to continue our joint efforts to bring an end to IUU fishing.
In relation to the Port State Measures Agreement, seven African countries have signed the Agreement and are now working towards ratification. We urge all Members to ratify or accede to the Agreement at the earliest possible opportunity. Only through entry into force will we be able to have a coordinated response to IUU fishing that is truly required to implement this Agreement. Effective implementation in Africa will require improved capacity building and better sharing of information through regional and international networks. In this regard we endorse the draft terms of reference for the Ad Hoc Working Group and thank the FAO for the tools they have developed. We also call for immediate support to strengthen capacity, information systems and tools to implement Port State Measures.
We commend the progress made in developing criteria for flag State performance and support that the technical negotiation is completed as soon as possible. Effective flag State performance is critical in countries where there is insufficient Monitoring, Control and Surveillance of the Exclusive Economic Zone. We therefore underline the necessity for the flag State performance criteria to be applicable to activities in all areas, both those within and outside national jurisdiction. Further we would like to highlight the importance of effective communication and information sharing between coastal and flag States and invite practical ways to improve this.
We are also closely following work towards the development of a Global Record of fishing and fishing support vessels. The creation of a Unique Vessel Identifier will assist all actors in the identification and regulation of fishing vessels in all jurisdictions and we support this. We call on our partners and the FAO to support developing countries to develop the information gathering and sharing mechanisms that will ensure the effectiveness of the Global Record.
Lastly, we welcome the increasing efforts across the African continent to coordinate efforts and develop cooperation mechanisms to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing."