Benin's National Working Group (NWG) on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing convened a two-day session in Cotonou bringing together key national institutions to enhance coordination in fisheries monitoring, control, and surveillance (MCS). The meeting was organized by the Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC), in partnership with its technical partner Trygg Mat Tracking (TMT), under the framework of the West Africa Task Force (WATF). The NWG serves as an inter-agency coordination mechanism established to align MCS efforts across national institutions in the fight against IUU fishing and associated maritime crimes. Over the two days, delegates assessed the current state of inter-agency cooperation, evaluated coordination frameworks, and identified actionable steps to strengthen collaboration. The session drew participation from the Directorate of Fisheries, Interpol, Immigration, Container Port Control, Beninese Navy, the Maritime Authority, Marine Police, and Marine Customs.
Central to the discussions was progress on the Regional Record of Authorised Fishing Vessels (RRAFV), which aims to establish a shared, transparent regional database of licensed fishing vessels to support compliance monitoring and sustainable fisheries governance. Delegates explored Benin contribution to and benefit from the system, both by feeding national data into the regional record and leveraging it to strengthen domestic oversight. Attention also turned to the FCWC's Regional Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Centre (RMCSC), the region's dedicated hub for fisheries intelligence and coordinated operations, which provides member states with intelligence briefings and conducts due diligence on vessels of concern. Representatives from Benin's Fisheries Monitoring Centre (FMC) presented the Maritime Domain Awareness (MDA) tools currently at their disposal, notably the Seasight platform, with a live demonstration of its daily application. The FMC also outlined new work routines aimed at improving monitoring efficiency, provided an update on transponder integration, and described the centres expanding capacity to interface directly with the RMCSC, a development expected to facilitate faster and more effective data exchange between the national and regional levels.
Participants engaged in an interactive session evaluating the institutional, human, and infrastructure capacities of Benin's FMC. Collectively, the findings from this assessment will inform the refinement of operational procedures, clarification of roles and responsibilities, and identification of resources required to strengthen fisheries inspections and enforcement over the long term.
Much of the second day was dedicated to reviewing Benin's implementation of the Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA). Participants examined current procedures for handling Advance Requests to Enter Port (AREP) and conducting port inspections, and reviewed preliminary findings from a port profile analysis of foreign fishing vessel traffic intended to help identify priority IUU risks and improve inspection targeting. The participants also received hands-on training in Vessel Viewer, an open-source tool that enables rapid verification of vessel identity and operational history.
The meeting underscored the ongoing commitment of FCWC member states to deepen cooperation at both national and regional levels, reaffirming Benin's role in the broader regional effort to protect fisheries resources in the Gulf of Guinea. The outcomes of the session will guide next steps in strengthening Benin's fisheries governance framework and enhancing its contribution to regional MCS coordination.
Cotonou, Benin | 30–31 July 2026
