A four-day workshop on illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is being held in Cape Town this month. The workshop will focus on assessing and developing the key port State controls that African States can implement to prevent illegal fishing activity and ensure that effective controls are in place at their maritime borders. 

This workshop seeks to complement and build on a similar event held in 2010 that focused on the role of flag State controls in combating IUU fishing and identified a range of actions participants could take to strengthen those controls within their countries.

The workshop will explore how ineffective or poorly administered port State controls can provide a means for IUU fishing activity to flourish and will highlight cases where effective action has been taken. There will be a strong practical element to the workshop with a view to understanding the role of port authorities and supply chain processes in tackling IUU fishing.

CCAMLR and NEPAD’s (New Partnership for Africa's Development) Partnership for African Fisheries ‘Stop Illegal Fishing Programme’ are funding and delivering this workshop and are working with the South African Department of Environmental Affairs, the Australian Fisheries Management Authority and the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office. 

The workshop will bring together delegates from a variety of institutions: government departments, regional bodies, and non-governmental organisations. These organisations share interests and responsibilities relating to port State controls and they seek to promote the sharing of ideas, knowledge and information in order to combat IUU fishing.