On the front line of the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, fisheries inspectors in Dakar are being put through their paces at Senegal’s main port.

On board a docked fishing vessel, members of the team check documents on the bridge, inspect gear on deck and verify catches in the hold – all under the watchful eyes of trainers. The inspection is real but also forms part of a structured training exercise.

The participants, from Senegal’s Department of Fisheries Protection and Surveillance (DPSP), are taking part in a workshop designed to strengthen their ability to detect IUU fishing. The training is supported by the Common Oceans Tuna Project, funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and delivered by independent trainers working with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT).

The aim is clear: to improve the country’s capacity to stop IUU-caught fish from entering the market.

“IUU fishing undermines efforts at national, regional and global levels to achieve sustainable fisheries,”

says Matthew Camilleri, Secretary of the FAO Agreement on Port State Measures (PSMA).

“It undermines the very things that keep fisheries sustainable - it’s harmful to the ocean and the people who depend on it.”

While illicit fishing mostly takes place far out at sea, enforcement often depends on what happens on land.

“Because the only place you have any type of control on IUU fishing is not really out at sea. The sea is too big to control it. So it is at port,”

says Teresa Athayde, an independent trainer working with ICCAT.

This principle underpins the PSMA, a legally binding international treaty, commemorating ten years since its entry into force. This enables countries to inspect foreign vessels and deny them entry or services when there are indications of illicit fishing and related activities.

For Senegal, this role is particularly important.

“Senegal’s position on the West African coast makes the Port of Dakar a key transshipment point and a major landing port,”

says Karim Moulaye Mara, Director of Fisheries Protection and Surveillance.

“Within this context, it is important for us and for the full implementation of the PSMA, that appropriate inspections are carried out … because vessels fishing in the Atlantic may engage in IUU fishing.”

The workshop combines practical inspections with structured debriefings. Participants first review inspection procedures, ICCAT conservation measures and PSMA requirements, learning how to better interpret vessel information, identify potential red flags and prepare for boarding.

“It's the inspectors really who are on the front line in terms of IUU fishing, particularly when it comes to preventing the unloading of fish in ports,”

Teresa Athayde says.

“They carry out checks before the vessels enter port and then conduct onboard inspections of documentation and of the unloading of the vessels.”

In the port, inspectors put the theory into practice. Under supervision, they board vessels to verify registration documents, examine logbooks and cross-check declared catches. They inspect fishing gear and assess fish holds. From the dock they monitor offloading - checking what kind of fish is being brought in and how much, to make sure it follows the rules.

“The hands-on work at the port is extremely valuable,”

says Fatou Diouf, a DPSP Fisheries Inspector.

“It allowed us to strengthen our skills in assessing catches and identifying the species we found compared to those that were reported.”

Magatte Niang, DPSP Observer Programme Unit Head and ICCAT Focal Point, agrees:

“We built our capacity relating to operational control procedures. These allow us to more effectively implement PSMA requirements.”

In Senegal, tackling IUU fishing is not only an environmental issue, but an economic and social one.

“Senegal is firmly committed to the fight against IUU fishing,”

says Mara.

“It is an economic issue and a matter of food security. For all Senegalese institutions and the entire Senegalese population, this is an extremely important issue.”

Illegal fishing places pressure on fish stocks, weakens fisheries management and affects communities that depend on marine resources. It also creates unfair competition for those operating legally.

“When illicit fishing happens, it creates unfair competition for companies that comply with regulations and invest in sustainability,”

says Lamine Diaw, Head of Fishing Operations at Grand Bleu, part of an MSC-certified tuna fishery operating in Senegal.

The training in Dakar is part of a broader international effort to combat IUU fishing. Today, nearly three-quarters of the world’s coastal States are Party to the PSMA, with 677 designated ports applying its measures.

“The more the PSMA is implemented around the world, the fewer doors there are to allow vessels that have misbehaved to make use of ports, making it more difficult for them to continue their illicit activities,”

says Camilleri.

“It is important that countries cooperate amongst themselves…No country can act alone.”

At the end of the workshop, participants gather for a final debrief and completion ceremony, after several days of intensive, hands-on training.

By strengthening the skills of frontline inspectors, Senegal and other countries hosting similar workshops, are taking important steps to protect their economies, fisheries and the communities that depend upon them. IUU fishing is a global issue, but it is being addressed locally, one inspection at a time.

• Website: FAO Common Oceans
• Website: FAO Agreement on Port State Measures
• Website: ICCAT´s Port Inspection Scheme
• Social media video: On the frontline in the fight against IUU fishing: FAO and ICCAT train Senegal port inspectors
• Longer video: FAO ICCAT: Training to stop IUU fishing

The Common Oceans Tuna project brings together a global partnership dedicated to sustainable tuna fisheries aiming to advance responsible tuna fisheries management and biodiversity conservation in areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ). Funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and led by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), it works in collaboration with five regional tuna fisheries management organizations, intergovernmental organizations, the private sector, and civil society.