November 2021 — Per Erik Bergh (CEO) and Mathew Markides (Legal and Research Officer) participated in the ninth Southern African Development Community (SADC) Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated Fishing Task Force (IUU) Task Force meeting. This hybrid meeting was held in Vilankulo, Mozambique on the 17 November 2021 as a side session to the Growing Blue Conference, allowing some participants to be present in person while others participated virtually.
Participants included SADC Member States, the SADC Secretariat, the SADC Monitoring Control and Surveillance Coordination Centre Interim Project Management Unit (MCSCC IPMU) and partner organisations including the South-West Indian Ocean Fisheries Commission, the E€OFISH programme, WWF, and Stop Illegal Fishing.
The meeting provided an opportunity to share updates on MCS work in the region including regional activities and national level activities undertaken by Member States. A draft information and data sharing protocol was also presented and considered at the meeting. This document, once finalised and in force, will guide a key component of the fight against IUU fishing in SADC – communication between States.
