A group of African nations determined to bring an end to illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the western Indian Ocean has enlisted Somalia in its cause.
The FISH-i Africa Task Force, a unique alliance among African coastal countries coordinated with the help of Stop Illegal Fishing and The Pew Charitable Trusts, has welcomed Somalia as the eighth nation to join its ranks. Somalia will work alongside the other countries united under FISH-i to construct effective mechanisms to bolster enforcement against IUU practices through the use of vessel data and satellite tracking.
The approval of Somalia’s application for the task force, which was submitted in May 2015, demonstrates the alliance’s “ambition to broaden efforts to sustain itself beyond Pew’s support, as well as member nations’ strategic understanding of what will be needed to counter illegal fishing operations in their waters,” according to Tony Long, who directs the ending illegal fishing project for The Pew Charitable Trusts.
“We have shown that our countries in the western Indian Ocean are committed to identifying the wrongdoers,” noted Wallace Cosgrow, Seychelles’ minister of fisheries and agriculture. “We have developed trust with one another that was not there before, and this pooling of information and resources means we can outmaneuver the illegal operators.”
Somalia’s move to improve its fisheries management system comes after years of instability in the country, during a time where a decrease in piracy has seen the influx of both legal and illegal fishing activity. The nation will play a critical role in the FISH-i network – which already consists of Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Seychelles and Tanzania – due to its strategic location, among other things.
“By encouraging exchange of information and coordinated action, the FISH-i Africa countries have made a significant difference to the effectiveness of monitoring, control and surveillance efforts in the region,” said Nicholas Ntheketha of Kenya, the acting chair of the FISH-i Africa Task Force. “The addition of Somalia strengthens our network even further.”
The FISH-i Africa Task Force approved Somalia’s bid unanimously, recognizing that the nation is still in the initial stages of establishing fisheries management resources for monitoring, control, surveillance and enforcement.
