09-05-2017, Djibouti – The Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) in partnership with the African Union – Inter African Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR) and with the support of the European Union (EU) is convening a meeting in Djibouti with regional representatives from the IGAD Member States from May 9-11, 2017.
The objective of the meeting is to strengthen IGAD Member States capacity on fisheries Monitoring Control and Surveillance (MCS) to effectively combat, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in the IGAD region.
Speaking on behalf of the Executive Secretary of IGAD, Mr. Mohamed Moussa, Director of Agriculture and Environment in his opening remarks re-emphasized the need for regional collaboration towards combating and controlling IUU fishing in order to grow the diverse fisheries sector to contribute to social economic growth and food security in the region.
In support Mr. Obinna Anazie, Policy Analyst – Fisheries and Aquaculture at AU-IBAR pointed out the need for political will and support of the IGAD member states for food security in the region and save the billions of dollars lost through IUU fishing.
Through the three-day workshop, IGAD will foster an inter-agency collaboration in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing at national and regional level through the facilitation and attendance of targeted responsible agencies from the fisheries protection, naval and judiciary departments from Djibouti, Kenya, Somalia, and Sudan.
As a result more awareness will be created on IUU impacts, as well as collated lessons and best practices shared in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
In view of this, stakeholders will be able to take into consideration existing national, regional frameworks and global instruments such as The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), Port State Measure Agreement (PSMA), United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement (UNFSA) to address the extent and impact of maritime criminality which are the underlying causes of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the IGAD region.
The team will also be able to develop an IUU Action Plan and Framework for the IGAD region in order to establish and strengthen regional cooperation on Monitoring Control and Surveillance, including regional fisheries observer programmes and a regional fishing vessel registrar will be validated.