Gap assessment workshop held in the Gambia
FAO held a participatory national workshop in the Gambia to develop a National Strategy and Roadmap for addressing gaps in the effective implementation of the 2009 FAO Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA), complementary international instruments and regional mechanism to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The workshop was held in Serekunda, the Gambia, from 27 June to 1 July 2022.
Participants representing a range of different national agencies, including fisheries, port, martime, navy, immigration, health and food security, attended and provided invaluable input into the five-day workshop.
The resulting National Strategy and Roadmap will provide the basis for the Gambia to reform its policy and legal frameworks, establish institutional arrangements, and strengthen the monitoring, control and surveillance (MCS) system consistent with the provisions of the PSMA.
The workshop also addressed the effective implementation of the 2012 IMO Cape Town Agreement and the 2007 ILO Work in Fishing Convention C.188, considering the important links between combatting IUU fishing and ensuring maritime safety and security as well as decent working conditions at sea.
This activity was the first intervention in the country under the Port State Measures Support Project (GCP/GLO/1047/GER) funded by the Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development of Germany (BMZ) under the auspices of FAO's global capacity development programme to support the implementation of the PSMA. A series of capacity development activities is planned in the Gambia until 2026 to strengthen the country’s capacity to effectively fulfil its international obligations as port, flag and coastal State to combat IUU fishing and to implement market-related measures in this regard.