Africa’s national fish inspectors and researchers have formed the first ever African Network for Fish Safety and Technology. It will ensure closer collaboration across the continent on issues from health controls to catching fish pirates, according to French-speaking countries coordinator Dr Khalifa Sylla of the Université de Dakar.
The decision came after a number of enthusiastic and packed meetings at October’s meeting in Morocco of the International Association of Fish Inspectors (IAFI.net) under the umbrella of their World Seafood Congress (WSC).
The first challenge is how inspectors across fish-rich African countries will cope with the need to ensure certification down the chain so that product will be allowed into Europe under new rules from January 1 2010. The general position at the WSC, from inspectors, researchers and the industry, was that many countries did not have the resources to ensure they met the deadline. This message was taken from the WSC by Chris Leftwich, Chief Inspector of Billingsgate, UK, to the 5th International Forum on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing. Officials there said the EU will not budge on the date. But analysts suggest European processors who need third country product to keep Europeans at work in their factories will force the Commission to find some date compromise.
