The 18th Meeting of the West Africa Task Force held on 19-21 May 2025 in Lome, Togo, concluded with an essential agreement concerning a regional fisheries vessel record, culminating three days of discussions between the Directors of Fisheries, Heads of Monitoring Control and Surveillance (MCS) of the FCWC Member States, including observers from the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Sub-Regional Fisheries Committee (SRFC), and Sierra Leone, with the support of the WATF Technical Team (Stop Illegal Fishing (SIF) and TMT), to advance the region’s national and regional fisheries enforcement efforts to combat IUU fishing.
The first day consisted of national-level MCS updates, including in-country fisheries legislation and activities, collaboration with fisheries partners and initiatives, legal and operational procedures for implementing the PSMA, and updates on the capacities of the Fisheries Monitoring Centres (FMC) in terms of human, infrastructure, and institutional resources.
The second day involved technical discussions on sustaining and deepening collaboration between FCWC Member State national FMCs and the FCWC Regional MCS Centre, focusing on due diligence in fishing vessel licensing and registration processes, joint patrols, closed-season monitoring support, and capacity building. There was further discussion on how to advance from intra-regional cooperation to inter-regional/trans-regional cooperation, by developing linkages, building synergies, and sharing experiences between the FCWC RMCSC and the SADC Monitoring, Control, and Surveillance Coordinating Centre (MCSCC), Subregional Fisheries Commission MCS Centre and others for the mutual benefit of the regions.
The WATF Technical Team’s ongoing work on the development of the Regional Record of Authorised Fishing Vessels (RRAFV) was revisited through a review of the results of national consultations on the RRAFV framework. The key findings of the consultations indicated that agreement on the scope (i.e., which vessels to include) and the fee structure were crucial decisions that needed to be made to advance the process. The findings were analysed and discussed in a breakout group session during which agreement was reached on how to proceed.
Also on the second day, the results of a baseline survey conducted under the Intelligence-led fisheries port controls programme (Ports Programme) were presented, revealing that the newcomers to the program (Nigeria, Togo, Benin and Liberia) require support to develop national-level Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for the vital PSMA implementation processes (risk assessment, interagency cooperation).
The meeting concluded after FCWC projects (MarEcoPlan, WASOP, EAF-Nansen, and the IFG project) presented on potential synergies with the WATF regarding MCS-related aspects of their activities, and recommendations and requests were developed.
A key set of recommendations was made concerning the RRAFV, reflecting that an essential agreement had been reached on the scope and fee structure for registering vessels. The WATF recommends including all industrial fishing vessels (national and foreign) engaged in fishing or fisheries-related activities that require FCWC Member State authorisation; setting a registration fee as a percentage of the national authorisation fee irrespective of the vessel’s flag or area of operation; instituting a three-year grace period for vessels already operating; and drafting a protocol for the RRAFV to provide the legal framework for its establishment.
Other significant recommendations include exploring the expansion of inter-regional cooperation between FCWC and SADC, assessing and pursuing opportunities for integrating drones and other cost-effective tools for fisheries MCS, joint patrols among FCWC Member States, and expanding training and capacity-building programmes.
