Between the 30th and the 31st of October 2023 and the 20th and the 22nd of November two multi-agencies workshops with a focus to improve fisheries governance took place in Dakar, Senegal.
Both workshops focused on an assessment of the effective implementation of the FAO Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA).
The workshops were held within the framework of the three-year project ‘Reinforcing the fight against IUU fishing in Senegal through improved fisheries governance and transparency’ funded by Oceans 5 and implemented by the Regional Partnership for Coastal and Marine Conservation in West Africa (PRCM), Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), the Ministry of fisheries and maritime economy (MPEM) of Senegal and TMT.
Senegal is also part of the ‘Intelligence-led port controls’ programme, which was initiated by TMT and Global Fishing Watch (GFW) to support African States in the implementation of this agreement.
To discuss maritime governance, different Senegalese agencies were represented in both workshops, such as the direction for the fisheries protection and surveillance (DPSP), the representatives of Dakar autonomous port (PAD), the Maritime Affaires National Agency (ANAM), the Navy, the High Authority in charge of the maritime safety, security and of the protection of the marine environment (HASSMAR) as well as other agencies.
The first workshop which took place in October, was organized, and led by TMT technical team, Global Fishing watch, the PRCM and the Environmental Justice Foundation.
The PSMA Port Profile of Dakar– a baseline analysis of port use by foreign-flagged fisheries vessels over a reference period of 3 years – was formally presented to participants with a view to increase their knowledge of the types of vessels and operations using Dakar port, identify factors increasing the risk of IUU fishing, and improve the targeting of vessels for inspection.
The workshop included a training session on Vessel Viewer, a mobile application developed by GFW and TMT aimed at providing port inspectors with the most up-to-date information on a fishing vessel’s identity and operations.
Vessel Viewer was first introduced in Dakar in 2022 as part of the application’s test phase, in which four countries participated as test users (Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Kenya).
New functionalities were recently implemented, and the application is now being rolled out to a broader user base in Senegal. During the workshop, TMT delivered tablets to the direction for the fisheries protection and surveillance to support the use of Vessel Viewer and broader MCS activities.
The second workshop which took place in November, was organized, and led by TMT technical team. Different Senegalese agencies had the opportunity to discuss the best practice that should be established to strengthen communication and cooperation within national agencies involved in monitoring, control, and surveillance activities. It is in this context that a draft of Memorandum of Understanding between agencies was proposed as well as a national information sharing platform.