Fisheries monitoring staff from Algeria, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco and Tunisia have participated in a recent training programme run by the European Fisheries Control Agency (EFCA)
Use of vessel monitoring systems, automatic identification systems and other control technologies including satellite imagery was the focus of the training as part of the e-FishMed project.
The EFCA is headed by Irish scientist Dr Susan Steele.
The project, which is funded by the EU, aims to improve national and regional monitoring, control and surveillance systems by setting-up a virtual regional training academy.
Participants in the training programme had “the opportunity to share experiences and best practices and to visit the EFCA Control Centre”, the EFCA said.
“The training is one of the capacity-building activities implemented by EFCA in the context of … stronger cooperation on fisheries control, the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and a sustainable blue economy in the Mediterranean region”, the EFCA says.
It is also running a project with Algerian authorities in their efforts to monitor conservation and management measures adopted at international, regional, and national levels and to combat IUU fishing.