On 19-21 May, SIF was in Lomé, Togo, to attend the eighteenth meeting of the West Africa Task Force (WATF) of The Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC). For the first time, a representative from the Board of Directors of the Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Coordination Centre (MCSCC) of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) participated in the meeting, making new steps towards strengthening inter-regional cooperation to fight IUU fishing. A valuable opportunity for experience sharing amongst both regions, which are engaged in parallel in the development of Regional Registers/Records of Fishing Vessels.

Since its establishment, bi-annual meetings of the West Africa Task Force (WATF) have allowed Heads of MCS in the FCWC region to continuously share experiences and strengthen their cooperation, and more recently to do this through their Regional MCS Centre (RMCSC), based in Tema, Ghana. The WATF also provides valuable expertise to support more effective and harmonised MCS actions throughout the region, realising the commitments of FCWC Ministers to regional cooperation against IUU fishing.

A key service of the FCWC currently in development is the Regional Record of Authorized Fishing Vessels (RRAFV), a commitment made by FCWC Ministers in charge of Fisheries. In December 2024, in Monrovia/Liberia, the FCWC’s Advisory and Consulting Committee approved the 2025/2026 Roadmap “Towards an FCWC RRAFV” and tasked the WATF to conduct national consultations to make concrete recommendations on key parameters of the RRAFV. These included, the scope (vessels eligible for the RRAFV), the fees to be authorised on the RRAFV, and the regional alignment of RRAFV procedures. The findings of the Member State consultations were presented during the WATF 18 meeting to inform discussions and recommendations by the WATF.

Also engaged in a similar process, the SADC MCSCC, represented by the Chair of the MCSCC Board of Directors, shared insights on the process of establishing the RRFV in the SADC region. As the SADC Register and FCWC Record are being developed in parallel, there is an opportunity to share lessons learnt across the regions, and to consider this process in a broader pan-African perspective, exploring potential for alignment and harmonization.

“The Regional Record will provide greater transparency in the allocation of fishing licences in our region, combating the lack of transparency that undermines food safety and contributes to major economic losses for our countries. This Record is part of FCWC’s vision to harmonise and pool the MCS resources for enhanced efficiency of our actions”, said Dr. Bankole, Chief of Staff at the Togolese Ministry of animal fishery resources and transhumance regulation (MRHART), speaking on behalf of the Minister.