West Africa is endowed
with abundant fisheries resources, however due to political, economic and
environmental factors, it has been identified as the most significant hotspot
for illegal fishing. A global overcapacity of fishing effort and the growing demand
of fish products has encouraged operators to relocate to distant waters
specially in West Africa, where abundant resources and poor management measures
are less enforced and sometimes non-existent.
The European
Union-funded programme ‘Improved Regional Fisheries Governance in West Africa’
(PESCAO) aims at enhancing the contribution of fisheries resources to sustain
development, ensure food security, and help alleviate poverty in West Africa by
helping countries fighting IUU fishing. The programme is implemented over a
period of 4 years from April 2018 – 2022 and involves partners including the
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the European Union
Delegation to Ghana (EUD), the member countries of the Fisheries Committee for
the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) and the Sub Regional Fisheries
Commission (SRFC), and the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA).
Under the Result Area
2 implemented by the FCWC, a Regional Centre for Monitoring Control and
Surveillance (RCMCS) shall be established at the FCWC and equipped with a
Regional Vessel Monitoring System (VMS). The Centre shall be located at the
FCWC Headquarters in Tema, Ghana.
The position of RCMCS
Coordinator will be based at the FCWC Secretariat in Tema, Ghana with
occasional travel requirements. The position is introduced to support the
PESCAO project in accordance with Article 3 of the FCWC ‘Protocol for the
Establishment and Operation of a Regional Fisheries Monitoring, Control and
Surveillance Centre’.
Position:
Regional Centre for MCS Coordinator
Location: FCWC
headquarters, Tema, Ghana
Duration: 24
months, renewable
The general scope of job
The RCMCS coordinator
must be an official from the FCWC member States with strong fisheries resource
management skills, well qualified in fisheries MCS, and equipped to oversee a
Regional Fisheries Monitoring Centre (FMC)Fisheries Operations Centre.
The Coordinator:
Must be
able to engage partners from existing programmes, member country fisheries and
related agencies in combating IUU fishing and associated crimes:
He/she
should be equipped to research, process and analyse information and data
related to vessel activities including but not limited to fishing vessels,
support vessels, reefers vessels.
The RCMCS Coordinator will be assisted in
his/her duties:
By a team
comprised of technical experts including FCWC national FMC operators, the FCWC
IT expert, the FCWC MCS compliance officer and any projects implementing teams
and partners.
As an intermediary and the top official of the
centre, the RC MCS Coordinator will
Serve as a
liaison between the FCWC centre and all FMC centres including national, regional
and international monitoring centres.
Work in
close collaboration with the FCWC PESCAO project coordinator to ensure
efficient management of resources, equipment and information; implementation of
projects; assist in the day-to-day running of the RMCSC activities; and more
broadly the PESCAO project.
Must be
able to represent the FCWC nationally, regionally and internationally.
Must be
able to analyse the risks and opportunities and identify strategies for the
good functioning of the RCMCS and ensure good collaboration with existing
partners, stakeholders and the entire FCWC MCS project management teams.
Responsibilities
Under the direct
supervision of the FCWC Secretary General, the RCMCS Coordinator, is
responsible for:
Keeping
Member countries and Partners engaged in the fight against IUU fishing and
coordinate their activities;
Identifying
partners and sources of sustainable funding for the region in the post-PESCAO
project phase;
Efficient
use of the VMS, AIS and all other equipment installed at the RCMCS that serve
the monitoring of vessels authorised to operate in the FCWC member countries
waters;
Collecting,
analysing and sharing of relevant information between FCWC member countries
related to vessels operating in their waters;
Supervising
and ensuring the broader use of the FCWC MCS tools including the Regional
Record of Authorised Fishing Vessels, the regional observer program, the FCWC
communication Platform-Basecamp;
Preparation
and possible coordination of combined regional fisheries surveillance
operations to fight against IUU fishing;
Pooling of
fishing surveillance resources (VMS-AIS-Radio-Patrol boats) for good monitoring
of fishing vessel activities in the FCWC region;
Development
of synergies between the RCMCS centre and monitoring centres of other regional
and sub-regional fisheries organizations;
Supporting
broader FCWC activities.
Organisational relationships
The centre’s
activities will be agreed upon through suggestions made by the RCMCS
Coordinator and existing project coordinators, through the FCWC Secretary-
General based on an annual work plan. Broader RCMCS activities will be overseen
by the RCMCS Coordinator, considering the outputs of the PESCAO project.
The RCMCS Coordinator
acting as such entails close communication with all involved in the
implementation of the PESCAO project: representatives from stakeholders
including but not limited to ECOWAS, EFCA, Trygg Mat Tracking (TMT), Stop
Illegal Fishing (SIF) and the SRFC.
Requirements/Experience
A university degree in fisheries management, natural resource
management, maritime affairs, a Naval Officer or any other relevant field
of specialization;
Knowledge of project management;
Ability to work effectively both independently and as part of a
team;
Fluency in English/French is an advantage;
Excellent communication, oral and written skills;
Good knowledge of the FCWC member countries’ MCS states, challenges
and broad environment
Experienced in the use of VMS, AIS and other maritime monitoring
systems, as well as in the use and analysis of data and information
derived from such systems;
At least 5 years of experience in managing a fisheries monitoring
and coordination centre or similar and coordination of combined patrol
missions at the national level;
Practical experience in the implementation of fishing and maritime
safety regulations;
Experience in managing access rights, knowledge of requirements,
conditions for licenses, registration, etc. and proven knowledge in MCS
for industrial and artisanal fisheries;
Strong ability to train and support MS capacity needs in fisheries
MCS.
Documents to be submitted
A cover letter
A detailed CV
All applications should
be sent to the following address either by post or email by midnight 10 April
2020 (0000hrs) to the following address:
Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf
of Guinea (FCWC)
P.O. Box BT62, Tema, Ghana, 4th floor of Fisheries Research Institute Building Community 2 Area, Tema, Ghana
