The Mozambican government will strengthen its capacity to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing through the project “Enhancing Monitoring, Control, and Surveillance (MCS) Capacity in Mozambique,” launched yesterday (24) in Maputo.
The ceremony was led by the Secretary of State for the Sea and Fisheries, Momade Juízo, who highlighted the government’s commitment to promoting a sustainable, inclusive, and job-generating blue economy.
“The MCS Project is aligned with government policies, which call on everyone to contribute measures to protect marine resources, particularly during closed seasons and fishing bans, through reinforced surveillance and combat of illegal fishing in both the sea and inland waters,” he said.
The project is being implemented by the Ministry of Agriculture, Environment, and Fisheries, in partnership with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), which will provide specialized technical support, with funding from the Norwegian government, and will include a specific component led by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).
For this reason, the Secretary of State thanked Norway and the FAO for their involvement and urged project implementers to follow best practices in managing allocated resources.
UNODC chief António De Vivo stated that the initiative represents more than just the launch of a project; it is an innovative initiative that transcends the technical dimension and clearly demonstrates collective commitment to the sustainability of marine resources.
He emphasized that the fisheries sector plays an essential role in the livelihoods of thousands of families and in food security but faces significant challenges, including illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, which alone in the industrial sector defrauds the country of between 60 and 70 million dollars annually.
He explained that UNODC’s role in the project will be based on international instruments such as the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) and the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC), conducting assessments of the fisheries value chain and corruption risk evaluations.
FAO representative José Fernandes highlighted that illegal fishing “harms legitimate operations, undermines sustainable development goals, and is intrinsically linked to crimes such as corruption and fraud, affecting justice and responsible institutions.”
He added, “The project contributes to FAO priorities and sustainable development goals, including combating hunger, conserving marine resources, and building fair and effective institutions.”
He concluded by emphasizing that the project “will significantly contribute not only to reducing illegal fishing but also to increasing the food and nutritional security of coastal communities, as well as to conserving marine ecosystems and promoting Mozambique’s sustainable socio-economic development.”
Norwegian Ambassador Egil Thoras noted that the oceans reveal the richness of life beneath the sea, making it urgent to “protect this treasure.” According to the diplomat, Mozambique and Norway are both oceanic nations with long coastlines, significant fisheries resources, and rich maritime traditions, and have cooperated on ocean-related issues for more than 40 years.
He said his country is proud to cooperate in combating illegal fishing, ensuring that, together, resources can be protected, institutions developed, and opportunities created, resulting in more secure fishing jobs, more food, better marine life protection, less corruption, and greater trust between the government and citizens.
INAMAR Chairman Isaías Mondlane said that monitoring the exclusive economic zone and coastal areas has always been a challenge due to weak maritime enforcement capacity. The MCS project will enhance intervention capacity across the country’s 572,000 square kilometers of water in the exclusive economic zone and 2,700 kilometers of coastline, resulting in numerous advantages.
“[The project] will allow us to track all vessels engaged in fishing activities more securely, improve our capacity to issue certificates legalizing catches made in our country, and ensure that no illegally caught fish products are traded.”
He concluded by assuring that INAMAR and its partners are committed to using the allocated resources solely for combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing.
Source: AIM
