ntroduction
The consultative workshop for the East Africa, Southern Africa and Indian Ocean (EA-SA-IO) region and the 4th Meeting of the SADC Taskforce on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing was held on the 09-11, May, 2016 at the Hotel Cardoso in Maputo in the Republic of Mozambique. The meeting was organized in collaboration with the SADC Secretariat, the African Union Inter-African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR), Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) Secretariat, and the Government of the Republic of Mozambique with the support of the European Union (EU), the World Bank (WB) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).
The overall objective of the meeting was to develop a regional collaborative mechanism for effective management of shared fisheries resources in the EA-SA-IO region and to validate the draft Charter for the establishment of the Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Coordination Centre (MCS) in Southern Africa.
Participation
The meeting was attended by government representatives from the Republics of Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Djibouti, DR Congo, France, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Also in attendance were staff members from the African Union Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR), European Union (EU), Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), Indian Ocean Commission (IOC), Lake Tanganyika Authority (LTA), East Africa Community/Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization (EAC/LVFO), Nile Basin Initiative/Nile Equatorial Lakes Subsidiary Action Program (NBI/NELSAP), Southern African Development Community (SADC), Stop Illegal Fishing (SIF), South Western Indian Ocean Fisheries Commission (SWIOFC), The World Bank, World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and Zambezi Watercourse Commission (ZAMCOM). Also in attendance were the AU-IBAR consultants and representative from the Interpol Regional Bureau of Harare.
Opening Session
The meeting was officially opened by Dr. Narci Nuro de Premegi, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Sea, Inland Waters and Fisheries in Mozambique. He reiterated the commitment of the Government of Mozambique in supporting the initiative of combating IUU through a collective and regional approach. He commended SADC and IOC for providing leadership in the regions and the AU-IBAR for the continental leadership.
Madam Claudia Tomas, Director General of Fisheries Administration in Mozambique, Dr. Motseki Hlatshwayo, Technical Advisor-Fisheries, SADC Secretariat, Mr. Raj Mohabeer, from the IOC Secretariat, Dr. Mohamed Seisay, Senior Fisheries Officer, on behalf of Director AU-IBAR, Professor Ahmed El-sawalhy, and Mr. David Schorr, Senior Fisheries Manager of WWF also made their opening remarks.
The Meeting
Sharing Lessons and Experiences from regional Fisheries Projects and Interventions in the EA-SA-IO region (Plenary Session 1, 2, and 3)
Mr. Edward Kimakwa, the WWF Coastal East Africa Fisheries Programme Manager made a presentation on WWF fisheries interventions in the Coastal East Africa / South West Indian Ocean region.
Mr. Raj Mohabeer, Officer in charge of the IOC Secretariat presented on the EU funded IOC-SmartFish Programme.
Ms. Sandy Davies, Coordinator Stop Illegal Fishing (SIF) Secretariat presented on the FISH-i Africa Task Force, an initiative coordinated by SIF.
Mr Jude Talma, MCS Officer of the IOC provided an overview of the MCS activities of the IOC.
Dr. Dejen Eshete, Fisheries Expert with IGAD talked about IGAD fisheries activities.
Mr. Godfrey Monor, Executive Secretary of the Lake Victoria Fisheries Organization (LVFO) gave an overview of LVFO and fisheries activities, as technical arm for the East African Community (EAC).
Mr. Chris Heinecken CAP Marine a Consultant to AU-IBAR presented a draft report on the work on a national and regional observer programme and vessel registry database. There were several interventions from the participants, which enriched the report. AU-IBAR was asked to re-send the questionnaire to Member States who may have missed out in proving their feedback; further, AU-IBAR was requested to circulate the draft report for further inputs by participants and the respective countries.
Dr Aboubacar Sidibe, Project Officer at AU-IBAR made a presentation on African Union Strategy for Monitoring, Control & Surveillance (MCS) system to combat Illegal Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing in Africa and he pointed out that strengthening MCS to curb IUU fishing is of high priority to AU-IBAR fisheries governance work.
Dr. Jane Chimungeni-Brassington, of Samaki Ecosystems, a Consultant to AU-IBAR presented the draft report on the overview of the current status of MCS in the Eastern and Southern African region. There were several interventions from the participants, which enriched the report. AU-IBAR was requested to circulate the draft report to participants and respective countries for further inputs.
Group Working Session on the options and elements for enhancing regional cooperation in MCS in the EA-SA-IO region
The participants worked in groups to identified priority actions at both national and regional levels on the five thematic areas of: (i) regional cooperation/collaboration framework; (ii) capacity building; (iii) improvement of legal frameworks; (iv) funding mobilization; and (v) knowledge of fisheries resources and information sharing systems. There were interventions from the participants to enrich the results of the group works.
General Discussion on the Approaches towards EDF 11
Dr Eshete Dejen of the IGAD gave a brief overview of the EDF 11, whose overall objective is to improve fisheries and aquaculture management to increase the contribution of the sector to poverty alleviation, food security and nutrition in line with the Pan-African Fisheries and Aquaculture Policy Framework and Reform Strategy.
Mr. Raj Mohabeer of IOC briefly informed the meeting that EUR 30 Million envelope has been provided for under 11th EDF for the fisheries related activities in the the EA-SA-IO region. He mentioned that the lead organizations in the formulation of the 11th EDF Programme were IOC and the EU Delegation in Mauritius. The fund will support the whole of the EA-SA-IO region. The Lessons learnt and the policy guidance on management and food security will be used as inputs for the new Programme under 11th EDF.
Mr. Denis Reiss, Fisheries Attaché EU Delegation in Mauritius provided principles and guidance on implementation modalities of the EDF 11 envelope dedicated to the support to the contribution to sustainable fisheries and blue economy in the region.
Presentation of the MCS Coordination Centre in Southern Africa (Plenary Session 4)
Dr. Motseki Hlatshwayo, Technical Advisor - Fisheries, and Mr. Phineas Matto, Legal Counsel of the SADC Secretariat and Dr. Manuel Castiano Policy Officer from WWF also on behalf of SADC Secretariat and the Government of Mozambique presented the draft Charter and the roadmap for the establishment of the MCS Coordination Centre in Southern Africa. There were interventions from the participants to improve the Charter and the roadmap in the context of a broader EA-SA-IO region newly proposed collaborative mechanisms.
Meeting Outcomes
The meeting came up with the following outcomes:
Validation of the Charter for the MCS Coordination Centre Southern Africa: Dr. Motseki Hlatshwayo, presented the draft Charter for the MCS Coordination Centre Southern Africa. Participants made interventions on the draft charter and it was agreed that members provide feedback by 25th May 2016 after which SADC Secretariat will share the document with comments to the Technical Committee. Further, Members endorsed the inclusion of guiding principles to be part of the Charter. Also, they endorsed the roadmap for operationalization of the regional MCS Coordination Centre Southern Africa. Also the Secretariat should indicate a timeframe for the roadmap.
A roadmap/framework for regional cooperation on MCS for the EA-SA-IO region was agreed upon and priority areas for regional cooperation on MCS were developed.
Key priority areas to inform the formulation of the 11th EDF on fisheries: IOC, IGAD, EAC, COMESA, SADC, in collaboration with AU-IBAR to establish a Task Team that will work closely with EU Delegation in Mauritius to draft a comprehensive fisheries programme in EA-SA-IO region for funding consideration under the 11th EDF envelope programming.
Further, the meeting came up with the following set of Key Recommendations:-
- AU-IBAR in collaboration with IOC and SADC Secretariat create and or strengthen the existing platforms to provide opportunities for sharing lessons and best practices and for coordination cooperation for sustainable fisheries development and management in the EA-SA-IO region;
- AU-IBAR to provide leadership in the establishment of an interim collaborative mechanism for facilitating regional coordination and cooperation on MCS matters in collaboration with the five RECs (EAC, COMESA, IGAD, IOC, and SADC);
- SADC Secretariat to expedite the formal adoption of the Charter;
- The MCS Coordination Centre Charter should consider to accommodate Non-State Members; and
- SADC Secretariat to translate all documents from English to French and Portuguese.
Closing of the Workshop
Dr. Motseki Hlatshwayo, Technical Advisor-Fisheries, SADC Secretariat, Dr. Mohamed Seisay Senior Fisheries Officer of AU-IBAR and Madam Claudia Tomas, Director General of Fisheries Administration in Mozambique, made their closing remarks.
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