July 2015 - Per Erik Bergh (MD), Sally Frankcom (Communications Officer), JD Kotze (Consultant Investigator) and Ariella d’Andrea (Legal Expert) attended the 1st Regional Training Workshop of the West Africa Task Force which was held in Abidjan, Côte D'Ivoire, 13-17 July, 2015.
Bringing together participants from Benin, Côte D'Ivoire, Liberia and Nigeria the training sessions focussed on the procedures and processes used to investigate suspected illegal fishing. A visit to the Port of Abidjan enabled some practical exercises and training on vessel inspection of both purse seiners and reefers.
Mr. Seraphin Dedi, Secretary General of Fisheries Committee for West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) commented that ‘significant progress is being made; both through the establishment of national focal groups to facilitate greater inter-agency cooperation, and also with a new shared communication platform that will facilitate greater regional information exchange.’
The Coordination Team of the project comprises of the FCWC secretariat, Trygg Mat Tracking, Stop Illegal Fishing and NFDS.
