Between the 15 - 18 May 2023, the Guinea Ministry of Fisheries and Maritime Economy organised a workshop which focused on inter-agency MCS cooperation, including the introduction of drone technology to support effective fisheries port controls.
Facilitated by TMT in collaboration with project partners PRCM (Regional Partnership for Coastal and Marine Conservation in West Africa) and GRID Arendal, the workshop was held at the Guinean fisheries monitoring centre (Centre National de Surveillance des Pêches - CNSP) and gathered representatives from different agencies, including:
Direction Nationale des Pêches Maritimes (DNPM)
Centre National de Surveillance et de Police des Pêches (CNSP)
Préfecture Maritime
Port of Conakry
Gendarmerie Maritime et Fluviale
Direction National de l’Aménagement des Pêcheries (DNAP)
Agence de la Navigation Maritime (ANAM)
Office National de Contrôle Sanitaire des produits de la Pêche et de l'Aquaculture (ONSPA)
Bureau de Stratégie et de Développement
A primary objective of the workshop was review the current status of inter-agency MCS cooperation, including where it could be established or improved. In this context, on the 17 May, the national Center for Environmental Monitoring and Surveillance (CNSOE) conducted a drone demonstration at sea, based on the successful implementation of drone use in terrestrial enforcement activities.
Participants from different administrations had the opportunity to observe and use different drones from the land and from a ship. This demonstration highlighted how drone technology could be used as an inter-agency tool to conduct surveillance and monitoring operations of fishing vessels at sea, particularly in the port area of Conakry.
To further formalise inter-administration cooperation a first draft of inter-agency Memorandum of Understanding was presented at the end of the workshop.
During the workshop, the TMT team delivered several presentations on the Port State Measure Agreement and the processes and tools that can be used to facilitate its implementation, including the AREP, associated risk assessment considerations, and the upcoming port profile assessment that will be conducted reviewing three years of port activity.
Representatives from Global Fishing Watch (GFW) presented the joint TMT-GFW application Vessel Viewer, and how it can be used as a key information tool to support risk assessment and MCS planning. Through several exercises, participants were able to actively use Vessel Viewer to assess recent activities and documentation provided by fishing vessels that had recently entered port.
During the workshop, TMT delivered tablets to the Ministry of fisheries and Maritime Economy tablets to support the use of Vessel Viewer and broader MCS activities.
Going forward, representatives from Guinea’s administration will designate points of contact to facilitate inter-agency communication and cooperation. A concept note on the use of drone technology in the MCS and particularly port context will be draft by the TMT and Grid Arendal.
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