South African MCS Officers enhance SADC Capacity: NFDS Supports SA

December 2025 – Per Erik Bergh (CEO and Managing Director), Sandy Davies (Senior Fisheries and Environment Director), Andréa Durighello (Fisheries Expert) and Estelle van der Merwe (Fisheries Consultant), travelled to Cape Town, South Africa, to participate in a training workshop on “Strengthening the SADC MCSCC: Focus on Atlantic Coastal States.”

The three-day workshop focused on strengthening national capacity for risk assessments of fishing vessels and aligning these processes with the SADC harmonised approach The workshop covered risk assessments with inspections for coastal, port, and flag State; assessing capacity for implementing the FAO Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA); and enhancing MCS tools for inspections, including the use of body-worn cameras and remote sensing .The workshop also aimed to reinforce regional cooperation at the operational level through the SADC MCSCC.

Key components of the agenda were consolidating the outcomes of the now-concluded SADC Atlantic Project, providing updates on the new initiative and the MCSCC and discussing the SOPs for inspection. The meeting also offered an opportunity to discuss the integration of regional MCS tools, such as the SADC Regional Register of Fishing Vessels (RRFV), into national procedures.