Regional Training Workshop on Capacity Building for Environmental Officials from Regional Fisheries Commission of the Gulf of Guinea (COREP) Member States in Monitoring, Control, and Surveillance (MCS)

Pointe-Noire, Republic of the Congo, hosted a regional training session from October 21–23, 2024, with the goal of enhancing the Monitoring, Control, and Surveillance MCS capabilities of environmental officials from member states of the Regional Fisheries Commission of the Gulf of Guinea (COREP). This workshop was organised by AU-IBAR in partnership with COREP and the ECCAS representative. It brought together important stakeholders to evaluate strategies, share best practices, and discuss operational MCS methodologies, all with a focus on environmental preservation and sustainable fisheries management.

The session commenced with a warm welcome from Mr. Emmanuel Sabuna, Acting Executive Secretary of COREP, followed by speakers from the Congolese government, AU-IBAR, and ECCAS. Each speaker emphasised the significance of coordinated MCS initiatives in the preservation of biodiversity. The “Conservation of Aquatic Biodiversity in the African Blue Economy” project helps Central African countries develop marine governance; Mr. Sabuna expressed gratitude to the Republic of Congo, AU-IBAR, and SIDA for their support of this effort. He brought attention to recent regional discussions in Brazzaville and Kinshasa that focused on managing marine ecosystems together and creating a transboundary marine protected area (TMPA) between Gabon and Congo. 

He linked the objectives of COREP member states with those of ECCAS, highlighting the importance of securing marine resources, preventing maritime crime, and developing a sustainable blue economy. Illegal fishing, inadequate management frameworks, and a lack of cooperation among national agencies are some of the problems that Mr. Sabuna listed as obstacles to sustainable fisheries governance. During his remarks, he urged governments to promote transparency, improve working conditions for employees, and strengthen collaboration in order to improve fisheries governance. He also stressed the significance of the workshop in strengthening MCS capability, staff training, and the fight against corruption.

In a speech delivered by Mr. Philippe Ouedraogo (Above) on behalf of Dr. Salih, Director of AU-IBAR, the serious problem of IUU fishing in Africa was brought up, with the attendant damage to aquatic life being pointed out. Unauthorised fishing in protected regions, illicit transshipments at sea, and licence fraud were among his concerns. Over half of the 4.7 million tonnes, or about $10 billion, of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing that occurs within African Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) each year is a result of inadequate management of marine conservation areas (MCS). The training, according to Mr. Ouedraogo, was held to help MCS staff combat IUU fishing in the COREP zone, which is part of a larger effort to protect aquatic biodiversity, which is necessary for good fisheries management. He emphasised the importance of participants reporting back to their National Fisheries Monitoring Centres (FMCs) and encouraging member nations to exchange information. In his remarks, Mr. Ouedraogo thanked the government of the Congo for hosting the workshop and praised Sweden for its support of AU-IBAR and the African Union. In order to help COREP reduce IUU fishing and protect aquatic biodiversity, he reiterated AU-IBAR’s commitment to doing so.

In keeping with COREP’s objective and the African Blue Economy Strategy, the workshop co-led by AU-IBAR and COREP focussed on critical MCS areas for the preservation of aquatic biodiversity. The national experiences of Angola, Cameroon, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, and Sao Tome and Principe in establishing MCS frameworks and conservation policies were discussed by representatives from these countries. Skills for observers, methods for observing the Earth, and inspection procedures for identifying IUU fishing were some of the topics covered in the expert-led workshops on MCS operations. The participants also had the opportunity to learn by doing with MCS tools such as AIS, VMS, satellite navigation, and Seasight software.

Closed fishing seasons, gear limits, quotas, and Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) were some of the management techniques reviewed in the additional sessions, which provided an opportunity for participants to share lessons learnt about sustainable fisheries practices. On the last day of the workshop, participants discussed gender, climate, and governance in the context of integrated fisheries management and biodiversity. At the end of the course, participants got some hands-on experience with MCS by visiting the SCS tool centre at the fishing port.

The training was a great success in increasing the capacity of environmental officials to implement MCS practices; it gave them the tools they needed to address biodiversity and fisheries issues in their regions. The document reaffirmed the dedication of COREP member nations to environmentally responsible fishing practices and called for more regional collaboration to protect aquatic ecosystems.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The African Union – Interafrican Bureau for Animal Resources (AU-IBAR).