At the request of the Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission (SRFC), the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations arranged a workshop on vessel monitoring systems (VMS) in Saly, Senegal, over 14-17 October 2002. The Workshop was funded by the FAO FishCode Programme, under project GCP/INT/849/USA (“Support for Implementation of the International Plan of Action on Illegal, Unregulated and Unreported (IUU) Fishing”) and by the FAO Regular Programme. Participants included representatives of all the SRFC Member States - Cape Verde, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania and Senegal - as well as the SRFC Associated Country of Sierra Leone.
This report was assembled by Messrs Kieran Kelleher and Eric Reynolds. The cooperation and contributions of Mr Germain DaSylva, Project Manager of FAO/GCP/INT/722/LUX, “Advisory Services for Fisheries Monitoring, Control and Surveillance,” and of his project staff, were essential to the successful outcome of the Workshop and are thankfully acknowledged. Thanks are also due to Messrs Jeremy Turner (FIIT), Andrew Smith (FIIT), and George Everett (FIPP), and to Ms Tania Abdirizzak, FishCode Programme Assistant, for their help in organizing the meeting. The assistance of Ms Françoise Schatto and Ms Graciela Segura with preparation of the report for publication is also gratefully acknowledged.
The Workshop Report is published as a contribution of the IUU Fishing Project (GCP/INT/849/USA), a component of the FAO Fisheries Department’s FishCode Programme, the “Interregional Programme of Assistance to Developing Countries for the Implementation of the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.”
J. Eric Reynolds
Programme Coordinator, FishCode
Fishery Policy and Planning Division
FAO Fisheries Department, Rome www.fao.org/fi/fishcode
Distribution:
Participants in the Workshop
Donor Agencies
FAO Offices in the Region
FAO Regional Fishery Officers
|
FAO. Report of the Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission Workshop on Vessel Monitoring Systems. Saly, Senegal, 14-17 October 2002. FAO Fisheries Report. No. 696. Rome, FAO. 2002. 99p. ABSTRACT This document contains the report of the Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission (SRFC) Workshop on Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) which was held in Saly, Senegal, from 14 to 17 October 2002. The Workshop was arranged by FAO at the request of the Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission, as part of FAO’s cooperative work with States and regional fisheries organizations to implement the International Plan of Action (IPOA) to Prevent, Deter or Eliminate Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing, and to promote the use of VMS as an additional instrument for monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) of fisheries. The objectives of the Workshop were: a) to sensitize the SRFC Member States on the potential of VMS as a complement to their other MCS activities; and b) to foster discussions at a technical level leading to the formulation of a subregional strategy for cooperation on VMS. FAO technical officers and invited experts presented several reports to the Workshop that covered topics including the history of MCS, the IPOA/IUU Fishing, recent experiences with MCS and IUU fishing in the Subregion, VMS infrastructure and procedures, institutional options for VMS within the Subregion, legal aspects of VMS, and putting VMS into practice. Members of the SRFC and Sierra Leone (SRFC Associate) briefed the Workshop on the status of MCS and VMS in their respective countries. The Workshop then reviewed a range of VMS options that could be considered in the Subregion. Participants divided themselves into three working groups, each to consider the following three questions: a) Is VMS cooperation necessary in the Subregion, and if so for what reasons? b) What is the nature of the cooperation required? and c) What actions should be taken at national level and at subregional level to achieve this cooperation? The Workshop endorsed the conclusions of the working groups and suggested that the following actions could be considered by the Coordinating Committee of the SRFC:
|
