The countries - the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Angola, Namibia, South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, Mauritius and Madagascar - signed a Statement of Commitment to Stop Illegal Fishing at a July meeting of SADC Marine Fisheries Ministers in Windhoek, Namibia.
This follows a May 2002 agreement between governments in the SADC region to co-operate with other nations in an effort to stop the practise of illegal fishing. This they did by tightening the controls on fishing vessels, fishing activities, the transport of fish and the trade of fish and to better manage their fishery resources. They have also strengthened their national monitoring, control and surveillance (MSC) systems; created regional fishery management bodies and organisations, and have participated in joint surveillance activities.
Yet illegal fishing has continued to plague member countries which say IUU (illegal, unreported and unregulated) fishing is mainly perpetrated by owners of companies from developed countries. This has led to the Fisheries Ministers agreeing to establish a regional task force which will monitor and survey fishing vessels movements; to establish VMS Centres in SADC coastal states, to ban transhipment at sea, and to prohibit access to SADC ports by IUU-listed vessels.
To reach this point, a list of priorities as to how to deal with IUU fishing activity in and outside EEZs has been identified as requiring urgent attention.
The main priority is to develop a regional MSC strategy and regional plan of action. Precedence is also given to strengthening and supporting each country’s national fishery’s MSC capacity and capability; instilling a no-pay policy on catching, trading or transporting illegal fish with the understanding that perpetrators will be punished; improving regional cooperation and communication with a view to eradicating IUU fishing; and strengthening fisheries governance and legal frameworks.
“Our failure to combat IUU fishing robs our coastal communities of their food security and opportunities for livelihood,” says a statement from the South African government.
Food security in Africa was also raised at the July meeting of the leaders of the Group of Eight (G8) in response to rising food prices. It is estimated that sub-Saharan Africa loses about U$1 billion annually as a result of illegal fishing activity.
The Statement of Commitment to Stop Illegal Fishing has been fully endorsed by the South African government which was forced to close its Abalone fishery at the end of January because of IUU fishing activity and continues to suffer a similar problem in its hake fishery. This problem was also highlighted again when in June the SA Navy’s new submarine, SAS Charlotte Maxeke (S102) made history by being the first South African submarine to successfully patrol South Africa’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) around Marion and Prince Edward islands.
“By signing this document the SADC coastal states are sending a message to the perpetrators that we are serious about fighting and stopping IUU fishing. We are saying to those involved “BE WARNED,” said Rejoice Mabudafhasi, the South African Deputy Minister of Environmental Affairs and Tourism.
Dr Abraham Iyambo, the Namibian Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources, called on SADC member states to increase intra-regional trade in fish and fishery products in order to grow the role of fisheries in regional economic integration.
Dr Iyambo has through his involvement in the international High Seas Task Force, also been instrumental in persuading the UK government to support an African policy process of implementing the SADC Protocol on Fisheries to tackle IUU fishing, through a new Stop Illegal Fishing Programme.
This was implemented in July 2007 and since this date two regional workshops have been held, one in cooperation with countries of the Indian Ocean considering issues around IUU fishing, and the other on port state measures. Various studies have been conducted around these subjects and a website was established to create awareness. (www.stopillegalfishing.com).
Meanwhile, the Mozambican government has named and shamed four foreign fishing vessels - Lian Chi Sheng No. 62, Ross, Nomar 1 and the Wulan Eks Lerry - as IUU in the past year. They have been formally banned from entering Mozambican waters.
Reinforcing this in its declaration, the Mozambican government confirmed it has stepped up its commitment and action to eradicating IUU fishing by implementing changes which include radically changing its foreign fishing vessel license application system; strict port control measures and pre-fishing checks on all fishing vessels and soon support vessels, and a MSC network to more rapidly exchange information with RFMOs (Regional Fisheries Management Organisations) and its fishing partners.
While John Magufuli, the Minister of Livestock, Development and Fisheries in Tanzania has called on the African Union to establish a Pan-African ministerial committee to deal with illegal fishing; non-SADC member state representatives from Comoros, Seychelles and Kenya have urged SADC members to work with IOC member states to strengthen measures that will help enforce and sustain port state measures; to establish bilateral agreements to undertake joint patrols and information sharing; and to consider establishing a harmonised penalty system in order to discourage offenders from seeking safe havens in other members states with weaker penalties.
They also urged SADC Ministers of Fisheries to consider lineation of the fisheries zones for small-scale artisanal and enforcing the 12-n.miles zonation for small operators, as well as ensure that industrial fleets do not infringe on the small scale and artisanal (and traditional) fishers; and to share information on vessels exiting one EEZ and entering another because of the tendency of some vessels to switch off their VMS. Such a tendency prevents the other member states from tracing the movement and activities of the vessels.
The Inter-Regional Organisations and Programmes - the Indian Ocean Commission, NEPAD, South-east Atlantic Fisheries Organization and INFOSA – has welcomed the renewed course of action initiated by SADC to stop illegal fishing in the region.
