WIOMSA, with the support of Blue Nature Alliance, hosted a workshop on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing in Small-Scale Fisheries in the WIO region on the 24th and 25th of May, in Zanzibar. The Principal Secretary at the Ministry of Blue Economy and Fisheries, Zanzibar, Tanzania, Dr. Aboud Jumbe, highlighted that IUU fishing is impacting the sustainability of small-scale fisheries on which many communities depend. Dr. Jumbe relayed the importance of understanding the extent of the problem, and the need for interventions that address the drivers of IUU fishing and its activities. There were 34 participants from across the WIO region, including, Kenya, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Madagascar, Comoros, Mozambique, and South Africa, who helped to contextualise the issue of IUU in SSF in their respective countries. The participants discussed a study to better understand the perception of the IUU problem that was recently completed by WIOMSA; providing country perspectives. The participants made a visit to the Malindi fish landing site near Stonetown and observed small-scale fishers returning to shore and selling their catches at the Malindi market place. Until we can find appropriate, innovative interventions to address the I, the U, and the U of IUU fishing, the sustainability of small-scale fisheries remains uncertain.
Link: https://www.wiomsa.org/iuu-fishing-in-the-small-scale-fisheries-of-the-wio-2/