RECORD OF THE SECOND MEETING
OF THE SADC MCSCC OPERATIONAL TASK FORCE (17-18 June 2024)

Second meeting of the SADC MCSCC Operational Task Force, 17-18 June 2024, Maputo (Mozambique)

The meeting report is available in English

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 second meeting of the MCSCC OTF, also referred to as the Task Force, was held in the city of Maputo on 17 to 18 June 2024. It was attended by 36 delegates from 12 State Parties to the MCSCC Charter: Republic of Angola, Kingdom of Eswatini, Kingdom of Lesotho, Republic of Madagascar, republic of Malawi, Republic of Mozambique, Republic of Namibia, Republic of Seychelles, Republic of South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania, Republic of Zambia and Republic of Zimbabwe. It was also attended by the SADC Secretariat, the Interim Project Management Unit (IPMU), the Regional Technical Team (RTT) of the MCSCC and representatives from partners to the MCSCC: Benguela Current Convention (BCC), Regional Maritime Information Fusion Centre (RMIFC), Stop Illegal Fishing (SIF), TRAFFIC, Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF) and FishFORCE Academy.

The meeting was kindly supported with resources from projects of the MCSCC including Oceans Vigilance, funded by Oceans 5; the SWIO
Fisheries Programme “Improving Governance, Livelihoods and Ecosystems”, funded by GIZ; and the FishFORCE Academy, funded by Norad.