On 10-11 April 2024, a national multi-agency workshop on combating IUU fishing took place in Antananarivo, Madagascar under the aegis of the Ministry of Fisheries and Blue Economy.
The workshop mostly focused on the implementation of the FAO Port State Measures Agreement and was attended by representatives from: Ministry of fisheries and of Blue Economy, CSP (Centre de Surveillance des Pêches), the APMF (Agence Portuaire Maritime et Fluviale) , the national Maritime Information Fusion Center Centre de Fusion d'Informations Maritime (CFIM), National Navy, Customs and Ministry of transport. Also present were representatives from TMT, Global Fishing Watch and the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC).
Madagascar recently joined the TMT and Global Fishing Watch programme "Supporting effective implementation of the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA) in Africa: Intelligence-led Fisheries Port Controls” which aims to support the practical implementation of the PSMA through a risk-based approach and the use of new tools.
As a new country in the programme, Madagascar authorities provided an overview of PSMA implementation status and challenges (from the legal, institutional and operational points of view), which will contribute to the programme’s new baseline and allow for the development of support activities.
This also allowed the technical team to get a better understanding of previous supports received by Madagascar (including through FAO) on PSMA implementation, to ensure complementarity between support areas.
Among the tools Madagascar will benefit from under this programme is the PSMA Port Profile – an analysis which will enable national authorities to increase their knowledge and understanding of the types of vessels calling into their ports and the operations they conduct before their port calls. The aim is to identify IUU risks to which Malagasy designated ports are exposed and improve the targeting of vessels for inspection.
The workshop included an introductory training session on Vessel Viewer, a mobile application developed by Global Fishing Watch and TMT aimed at providing port inspectors with the most up-to-date information on a fishing vessel’s identity and operations.
This tool will be introduced to teams of inspectors during upcoming training activities in the major ports of the country, and will be promoted as part of the assessment of AREPs (Advance Request for Entry to Port) submitted by vessels.
The meeting also provided an opportunity to introduce the Joint Analytical Cell (JAC) which provides national authorities and regional organanisations with fisheries intelligence, data analysis and capacity building to help combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.
Founded by the International Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Network, Global Fishing Watch and TMT, the initiative’s members also include C4ADS and Skylight. By harnessing innovative technology and the complementary expertise of its collaborating organizations, the JAC fosters cooperation among State and non-State actors to build insights and capacity to help enhance fisheries management.
Discussions were held during the workshop regarding possible support of the JAC to national fisheries patrols in Madagascar as well as regional patrols under the IOC-PRSP (Regional Fisheries Surveillance Plan).
The workshop was followed on 12 April by technical visits, allowing TMT and Global Fishing Watch team members to meet and discuss with representatives from the CSP, the APMF, the CFIM (as well as the Regional Maritime Information Fusion Centre – RMIFC – hosted by Madagascar).
During these meetings, possible cooperation with the JAC was further discussed, in particular around fisheries patrols, as well as planned support to the implementation of the PSMA.
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