The Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) and its partner TMT in the West Africa Task Force (WATF), in collaboration with the ‘Fisheries Governance in Senegal ‘ project and under the auspices of the Cote d’Ivoire Ministry of Animal Resources (MIRAH), organised an exchange visit between fishery officers of Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire from 6–8 October 2025 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, with financial support from Oceans 5 and Norad.
The exchange and training visit was organised to promote the sharing of best practices in Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS), and to strengthen port inspection procedures and bilateral cooperation between the two countries. The participants in the visit included fisheries inspectors, FMC operators, and the Directors of Fisheries Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) from Senegal.
The key outcomes of the exchange visit are increased alignment of MCS practices, enhanced knowledge of port inspection techniques, identification of replicable processes and methods, and strengthened bilateral collaboration on suspicious vessel activity.
During the three-day visit, the delegation from Senegal was immersed in Côte d’Ivoire’s operational MCS procedures, including legislation, standard operating procedures (SOPs), inspection protocols, and the use of digital tools. At the practical session held at the Port of Abidjan, the teams exchanged insights on differences and similarities in national procedures, identified areas for harmonisation, and explored inspection techniques for various vessel types, including trawlers, tuna vessels, and reefers.
This is an activity under the third phase of the FCWC’s Fisheries Intelligence and MCS Support in West Africa project that promote inter-regional/trans-regional cooperation by developing linkages, building synergies, and sharing experiences, interagency collaboration, regional coordination, and information-sharing among Member States to combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing. The activity is also aligned with the partner’s ongoing efforts to support broader fisheries governance.
A bilateral session between the Cote d’Ivoire Directorate of fisheries and aquaculture senior officials and the Director of Protection and Surveillance DPSP enabled direct dialogue on outstanding transboundary cases requiring follow-up and laid the groundwork for continued collaboration on shared enforcement priorities. By the end of the mission, participants had gained practical experience with port inspection methods, contributed to a bilateral exchange of best practices, and jointly identified avenues to align registration and inspection procedures. Both countries documented lessons learned and will use them to adapt procedures going forward.
The visit also contributed to strengthening institutional ties between Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire, with a view to enabling more regular exchanges and enhanced collaboration on vessel tracking, licensing, and compliance verification under the FCWC’s regional frameworks.
