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The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is organizing a workshop to assist the Senegalese authorities in assessing their performance as a flag State. The workshop, taking place between 30 June and 4 July 2025, is part of FAO’s technical assistance activities for the implementation of the 2009 FAO Agreement (PSMA) on Port State Measures to Prevent, Deter, and Eliminate Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing (IUU Fishing).

The workshop brings together around twenty lawyers and officials from the Ministry of Maritime Fisheries, the Directorate for Fisheries Protection and Surveillance (DPSP), the National Agency for Maritime Affairs, and other government agencies involved in combatting IUU fishing, both at sea and in port. This activity is carried out as part of the FAO Global Capacity Development Programme and funded by the German government.

During this five-day workshop, participants will review the fundamentals of sustainable fisheries management and the responsibilities of States in each of their roles, as flag State, coastal State, or port State, as defined in international instruments. Drawing on the methodology described in the Voluntary Guidelines for Flag State Performance, participants will then assess the legal, institutional, and operational frameworks implemented in Senegal to organize, regulate, and control the activities of vessels flying the Senegalese flag, regardless of where they operate.

This demanding self-assessment exercise will be finalized by a summary report, accompanied by an action plan to correct gaps identified by the participants. This will enable Senegal to fulfill its international obligations and provide a roadmap for implementing improvement measures.

The Voluntary Guidelines for Flag State Performance aim to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing by assisting flag States to fully exercise their responsibilities. They provide a valuable tool to strengthen compliance with flag States’ international obligations and duties, including the registration and licensing of fishing vessels and the establishment of an effective monitoring, control, surveillance and enforcement regime. They are therefore complementary to the 2009 FAO Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA) to complement the tools to combat IUU fishing.