Leaflet
The SADC regional fisheries monitoring, control and surveillance coordination centre – The MCSCC
On the 8 April 2023 the Charter Establishing the Southern African Development Community (SADC) MCSCC, known as the MCSCC Charter entered into force. With this, the State Parties to the Charter namely, Republic of Angola, Republic of Botswana, Kingdom of Eswatini, Kingdom of Lesotho, Republic of Madagascar, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Mozambique, Republic of Namibia, Republic of South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania and Republic of Zambia established the MCSCC as an international organisation and an autonomous and self-accounting institution of the SADC.
The establishment of the MCSCC is a long awaited and historical milestone for the SADC fisheries sector. It is the culmination of over two decades of regional commitments to improving cooperation and promoting responsible and sustainable use of all fisheries resources in the SADC region – both inland and marine resources.
In 2001, the Heads of State or Government of the SADC signed the Protocol on Fisheries, in which they marked their conviction of the ‘necessity for joint-cooperative and integrative actions at the regional level to optimise the sustainable use of the living aquatic resources of the Region for the continued benefit of the people of the Region’. This landmark Protocol has been a steppingstone for region-wide commitment to fisheries cooperation, with fighting illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing as one of the main targets.
In Namibia, in 2008, the SADC Ministers of Marine Fisheries Statement of Commitment to Combat IUU Fishing highlighted the growing concern on the harmful consequences of IUU fishing and called for the creation of a regional Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) Centre. This commitment materialised in 2017 through the MCSCC Charter which was approved by the SADC Council of Ministers in Pretoria, South Africa.
The establishment of the MCSCC builds on the SADC Common Agenda and will deepen the integration agenda with a view to accelerating poverty eradication and the attainment of economic and sustainable development goals. By developing shared policies, regulations and controls the MCSCC is feeding into SADC integration milestones to develop a free trade area, customs union and a common market.
Achieving sustainable development
Globally, the sustainable development goals (SDGs) set the priority actions required for sustainable development. Target 14.4 calls for an end to IUU fishing and destructive fishing practices by 2020, and this priority is reflected in the objectives of the MCSCC. By protecting our fisheries, the MCSCC is also contributing to the SDGs linked to poverty, hunger, decent work, responsible consumption and production and partnership. “As the role of the blue economy has gained prominence over the last few years our relationship with the ocean and our inland waterways has come under a new spotlight. We have long known that fisheries are important in the SADC region: they provide food and nutrition, generate employment and income, and provide livelihoods for millions of our people. But for many, fishing is more than an occupation: their lives depend on successful catches. Fishing is how our children are fed and education and medical bills are paid. Protecting this must be a priority.”
His Excellency, Mr Elias Mpedi Magosi, Executive Secretary, SADC Secretariat
Our fisheries help to secure our future
Globally, the sustainable development goals (SDGs) set the priority actions required for sustainable development. Target 14.4 calls for an end to IUU fishing and destructive fishing practices by 2020, and this priority is reflected in the objectives of the MCSCC. By protecting our fisheries, the MCSCC is also contributing to the SDGs linked to poverty, hunger, decent work, responsible consumption and production and partnership.
Overcoming threats to our fisheries
The challenges that fisheries are facing are rapidly evolving. The threats faced by fisheries managers and decision makers today, are not the same as those faced in the 1990s when the Protocol on Fisheries was negotiated. Today, however strong national fisheries management is — external threats that fisheries managers and decision makers are not in control of — are having enormous and negative impacts on the region’s fisheries.
They include the impacts of climate change, growing demand for low cost, nutritious food from a growing global population, unjust competition from financially subsidised fleets, pressure on our resources from over ambitious blue expectations and IUU fishing.
IUU fishing
IUU fishing occurs when illegal operators show no respect for laws, regulations or conservation and management measures.
IUU fishing is taking place across the SADC region:
Coastal fisheries
Coastal fisheries suffer from dynamite fishing, use of nets with small mesh size, and fishing in marine protected areas. These result in damage to vulnerable habitats and biodiversity which are essential for protection of the land-water interface, provision of nursery grounds for fish breeding, and for the wellbeing of coastal communities.
Offshore marine fisheries
Offshore marine fisheries experience violation of fishing zones and underreporting of catches, while document and vessel fraud, modern day slavery and other illegal business practices and crimes also occur. These result not only in damage to the fish stocks but also contribute to transnational organised crime and social and economic losses.
Inland fisheries
Inland fisheries suffer particularly from the use of unsustainable fishing gear and limited reporting of catches, while informal cross-border trade is used to circumvent customs and tax controls, denying governments revenue.
IUU fishing results in unfair competition for fisheries resources with depleted resources available to bona fide fishers, which can lead to the collapse of local fisheries, with small-scale fisheries proving particularly vulnerable. Products derived from IUU fishing can find their way into markets outcompeting local food supply. IUU fishing is a global challenge, with one estimate putting IUU fishing losses worldwide at between USD 10 and 23.5 billion annually, representing between 11 and 26 million tonnes of fish.
While ignorance of rules and regulations causes illegal fishing that can be addressed by awareness and sensitisation, more serious and organised illegal activities require a more systematic and cooperative region-wide response. The MCSCC is providing the framework for this response, enabling the region to tackle IUU fishing with a united and harmonised response. By working together through the MCSCC, the region will be better able to counter IUU fishing, and more able to work with other SADC sectors to provide a united and integrated response to protect SADC fisheries, our oceans and our inland waters.