Established in 2020, the FCWC Regional Fisheries Monitoring Centre (RMCSC) addresses major national and regional in combatting IUU fishing and associated fisheries crimes in West Africa. This is achieved through the establishment of a regional vessel monitoring system, the pooling and analysing information, working in a collaborative manner, promoting cooperation with relevant regional and national authorities and institutions, and building capacity.
The RMCSC supports the following activities:
Vessel monitoring and analysis to support coordinated efforts of fisheries inspection at port and at sea.
Developing a Regional Record of Authorised Fishing Vessels, to maintain an up to date, easy to access list of authorised and IUU listed fishing vessels.
Coordinating regional and joint at-sea patrols, to identify vessels operating illegally, without authorisation, or in contravention of national or regional conservation and management measures.
Establishing a Regional Observer Programme, to provide first-hand scientific and compliance information.
Training and capacity building, to strengthen capacity for MCS.
The RMCSC is built on the regional cooperation established by the FCWC West Africa Task Force and is integrated into this key FCWC regional MCS mechanism.