The US Naval Institute News Service reports,
“Faced with an annual $10 billion loss from Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, West African nations are moving to work together to better understand and police their exclusive economic zones as a group, the head of U.S. Naval Forces in Europe and Africa told USNI News last month.”
Not surprisingly the Coast Guard was involved.
The idea for a combined push emerged at the first African Maritime Forces Summit held in March at Cabo Verde organized by NAVEUR. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro and Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan represented the U.S. along with 80 other countries.
Fisheries management in African waters requires regional cooperation. As I noted in a 2014 post, among other problems, there are so many countries in Africa (54 countries, at least 32 with coastlines) that their individual EEZs are too small to manage fishing stocks. If one country attempts to rebuild stocks by reducing fishing, a neighboring country may take advantage of their sacrifice and undo their efforts.
The USNI post talks about replicating something like Joint Interagency Task Force South in U.S. Southern Command. The NAVCENT sponsored Combined Maritime Forces might also serve as a model. There is also the South Pacific Regional Fisheries Management Organisation that might also serve as a model. Bilateral shiprider agreements could also be useful.
The Coast Guard has been working with African Nations for some time now.
- “USCGC Spencer (WMEC 905) completes multinational maritime security patrol, arrives in Dakar, Senegal” –U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa/U.S. Sixth Fleet January 2023
- International Exercise Obangame Express 2023 Set to Begin Posted
- USCGC MOHAWK’s Trans-Atlantic, Europe and West Africa Deployment–Wrap Up September 2022
- “U.S. Coast Guard presents USS Hershel “Woody” Williams crew with the Coast Guard Special Operations Service Ribbon” –LANTAREA/ESBs and the Coast Guard
- “Coast Guard carves out strategic niche in Africa” –Stars and Stripes August 2022
- “The Long Blue Line: Operation “Relevant Ursa”–Bear training in West Africa” –Coast Guard Compass
- “The U.S. Coast Guard’s Mission to Africa” –USNI
- Capacity Building in North Africa
- Exercise Obangame Express 2019 –Capacity Building in West Africa
- African Coast Guard Network