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management of fishing capacity. The fourth IPOA is designed to prevent, deter and
eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
6. Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, or
CITES, is an international agreement among governments to ensure that international
trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. The
Convention entered into force on 1 July 1975 and currently has a membership of 173
countries. Many marine mammal and all turtles on listed. Appendix 15 contains a more
detailed list of marine species covered by CITES.
International law primarily regulates the relationship among States whereas domestic (or
national) law regulates the relationships between persons (including legal persons such as
companies) within a particular State. Domestic law extends to territorial waters (12 nmi),
national EEZs (to 200 nmi) and continental shelf waters (when sedentary species extend
beyond 200 nmi). Flag states are responsible for controlling the fishing activities of a vessel,
no matter where the vessel operates (including the high seas).
1.5 Regional Fisheries Bodies
Regional Fishery Bodies (RFB) and Regional Fishery Management Organizations (RFMO)
consist of groups of states or organizations that have agreed to a set of rules in order to work
together towards the conservation and management of fish stocks. Six RFBs operate in the
eastern central Atlantic. Each RFB focuses on a specific group of species (e.g. tuna) or covers
multiple targets and fisheries on the high seas and within national waters. The coverage
several of these RFBs overlap (Figure 1-2).
The oldest and largest RFB in the Atlantic is the International Commission for the
Conservation of Tuna (ICCAT). Data collected by observers on tuna vessels will be passed
on to ICCAT for the management of tunas and tuna-like species.
Convention on the Conservation and Management of Fisheries Resources in the South East
Atlantic Ocean established the Southeast Atlantic Fisheries Organization (SEAFO). This
convention covers a sizeable part of the high seas of the South East Atlantic Ocean and
includes sedentary / discrete and straddling species such as alfonsino, orange roughy, oreo
dories, armourhead, sharks, deepwater hake and red crab.
The Fishery Committee for the Eastern Central Atlantic (CECAF) covers a large portion of
the Eastern Central Atlantic between Cape Spartel (Morroco) and the Congo River. The
Committee covers all living marine resources within its area of competence. There are
currently 34 member countries. Within the CECAF zone, there are three additional
committees that include the national waters of the following countries:
• Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission (SRFC) - Cape Verde, Gambia, Guinea Bissau,
Guinea, Mauritania, Senegal and Sierra Leone;
• Regional Fisheries Committee for the Gulf of Guinea (COREP) – Congo, Democratic
Republic of Congo, Gabon, Sao Tome and Principe;
• Fishery Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) - Benin, Cote d’Ivoire,
Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Togo.
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