Six new nations have joined the Intelligence-led Fisheries Port Controls programme, established to assist African nations in implementing The Port State Measure Agreement (PSMA), a vital international treaty that aims to set minimum standards for controlling foreign fisheries vessels accessing ports.
The fourth Steering Group Meeting of the Intelligence-led Fisheries Port Controls programme in Antananarivo, hosted by Madagascar’s Ministry of Fisheries and Blue Economy, through its Fisheries Surveillance Center (CSP), brought together representatives from ten participating nations, programme technical teams from TMT and Global Fishing Watch, and observers from regional fisheries bodies and mechanisms, and the FAO.
The programme helps to enhance national authorities’ ability to monitor and understand foreign fishing operations in their ports and mitigate exposure to IUU fishing risks. It builds on the expertise of TMT and Global Fishing Watch, combining sophisticated fisheries intelligence and analysis with vessel tracking data to support African countries. Its innovations include tools such as PSMA Port Profiles, which provide a three-year AIS-based overview of foreign vessel traffic, and Vessel Viewer, which offers port inspectors quick access to vessel activity histories for targeted inspections.
The adittions to the programme are Benin, Guinea, Liberia, Madagascar, Nigeria, and Togo, joining the original four pilot nations of Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Kenya, and Senegal.
A baseline study conducted across the new participant countries was presented, detailing current PSMA implementation statuses and challenges.
Discussions highlighted improvements to the analytical tools offered by the programme, including updates to the Port Profiles methodology and the launch of quarterly AIS-based port-visit summaries to be distributed in 2025. These enhancements aim to provide deeper insights, enabling authorities to better evaluate and strengthen their Advance Request for Entry to Port (AREP) procedures.
Using a recent successful investigation into a transnational IUU fishing case by the FCWC West Africa Task Force and the SADC-MCSCC as a model, participants explored how faster information-sharing networks across regional mechanisms could streamline due diligence processes and bolster document verification efforts during AREP assessments.
The outcomes of the fourth Steering Group meeting are set to shape the next stages of the Intelligence-led Fisheries Port Controls programme, which is expected to continue its mission to combat IUU fishing through mid-2026. These efforts represent a crucial step towards ensuring sustainable fishing practices, safeguarding ocean ecosystems, and protecting the livelihoods tied to these resources.
Following the Steering Group meeting, a two-day training workshop was conducted for 15 CSP fisheries inspectors from Madagascar’s five PSMA-designated ports. The workshop focused on equipping participants with hands-on experience in utilising the advanced functionality of the Vessel Viewer tool. By working through scenario-based exercises, the inspectors refined their skills in vessel document verification and AREP assessments, strengthening their capacity to prevent IUU activity at key ports.
