RECORD OF THE FIRST MEETING
OF THE SADC MCSCC OPERATIONAL TASK FORCE (6-8 December 2023)

First meeting of the SADC MCSCC Operational Task Force, 6-8 December 2023, Cape Town (South Africa)

The meeting report is available in English, French and Portuguese.

After the adoption of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Protocol on Fisheries in 2001 and the Statement of Commitment on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing in 2008, the Charter for the Establishment of the SADC Regional Fisheries Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Coordination Centre (MCSCC) entered into force in April 2023. This new milestone enabled the formalisation of the MCSCC Operational Task Force (OTF) for regional cooperation against IUU fishing, consolidating an informal process that SADC Member States had been building for some years.

The first meeting of the MCSCC OTF, also referred to as the Task Force, was held in the city of Cape Town on 6 to 8 December 2023. It was attended by a total of 36 delegates from 11 State Parties to the MCSCC Charter: Republic of Angola, Republic of Botswana, Kingdom of Eswatini, Kingdom of Lesotho, Republic of Malawi, Republic of Mozambique, Republic of Namibia, Republic of Seychelles, Republic of South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania and Republic of Zambia. In addition, the SADC Secretariat, the Interim Project Management Unit (IPMU) and the Regional Technical Team (RTT) of the MCSCC, and representatives from partners to the MCSCC: Benguela Current Convention (BCC), Stop Illegal Fishing (SIF), TMT, TRAFFIC and Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) attended the meeting.

The meeting was kindly supported with resources from projects of the MCSCC including Oceans Vigilance, funded by Oceans 5, and the SWIO Fisheries Program: Improving Governance, Livelihoods and Ecosystems, funded by GIZ.