SADC Fisheries Quarterly Update sets focus on MCSCC

12 September 2023

On 12 Septmber, we celebrate the United Nations Day for South-South Cooperation. It was proclaimed by the General Assembly to underline the importance and impact of cooperation between developing countries, of which SADC and the SADC MCSCC mark leading examples.

The date of the 12 September goes back to 1978 when the United Nations Conference on Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries adopted the Buenos Aires Plan of Action for Promoting and Implementing Technical Cooperation among Developing Countries (A/C.2/66/L.48). SADC aims to achieve development, economic growth, peace and security, to alleviate poverty, enhance the standard and quality of life in Southern Africa and thus, the MCSCC represents a milestone for the SADC region.

Especially the fisheries sector plays a significant role, as it is vital to national food and nutritional security, economy, employment and livelihoods. For more than two decades, the SADC member states are guided by the 2001 SADC Protocol on Fisheries, endorsed by SADC Heads of State. Since then, the participating governments worked untiringly to address the key issues. One of them, IUU fishing, is actively tackled by the operationalisation of the MCSCC.

Regularly, the SADC Fisheries Quarterly Update summarizes the current situation, main threats and key facts regarding the fisheries sector in the region. Apart from that, the latest edition published this summer, sets its focus on the MCSCC and the recent developments in 2023.

Official opening of MCSCC offices by the Minister of Sea, Inland Waters and Fisheries of Mozambique, Honourable Dr Lidia Cardoso on 20th April 2023, based at the Ministry of Sea, Inland Waters and Fisheries (MIMAIP) in Maputo, Mozambique. © SADC