Familiarisation Exercise in Freetown, Sierra Leone
© FAOMultiple agencies benefitted from a port and vessel familiarisation exercise during an interagency workshop held in Sierra Leone.
During the week of 17 – 21 February 2020, FAO facilitated an interagency workshop in Freetown, Sierra Leone as part of a capacity building programme to help the country to meet its obligations in implementing the FAO Agreement on Port State Measures, which was ratified by Sierra Leone in September of 2018.
Representatives from the fisheries, police, health, navy, maritime, port and justice authorities actively participated during the week.
As it was known that a foreign flagged fishing vessel was schedule to arrive at Queen Elizabeth II Quay in Freetown to discharge catches, the opportunity was taken to use the arrival of the vessel as a PSMA implementation case study.
The participants found this a highly valuable experience, during which a great deal was learnt about the relevance and value of interagency cooperation, collaboration and information exchange.