Maputo, June 11, 2026 (Lusa) - The President of Mozambique on Thursday called for regional coordination, robust institutions and mutual trust in the fight against illegal fishing in Africa, which causes estimated annual losses of US$400 million (€347 million) in the Southern African region.
"Every vessel that catches fish illegally represents revenue that fails to reach our countries’ coffers. It represents job opportunities that are not created and wealth that fails to benefit African communities,” said Daniel Chapo at the inauguration of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) Regional Coordination Centre for Fisheries Monitoring, Control and Surveillance in Katembe, Maputo.
According to the Head of State, illegal fishing threatens the economic sovereignty, food security, livelihoods and the future of the next generations in member states, with annual losses of around US$2 billion (€1.7 billion) in sub-Saharan Africa and US$400 million in the SADC region, which requires a “response that transcends national borders”.
“Combating illegal fishing requires (…) regional coordination, information sharing between countries, harmonisation of procedures, robust technical and institutional capacities, and mutual trust among our states in the region. It is precisely to address this challenge that this Centre was established,” argued the president.
For Chapo, the true value of the centre will not be measured by the grandeur of its facilities, but by its ability to preserve resources, protect jobs and by the prosperity it will help to build across southern Africa.
Through the centre, SADC member states will be able to strengthen information sharing, improve vessel monitoring, harmonise enforcement, strengthen institutional capacities and promote coordinated operations to combat illegal fishing, which represents one of the greatest threats to the sustainability of the region’s fishery resources, he added.
“In a context where threats are becoming increasingly transnational, no state can act in isolation. An effective response requires strong regional institutions, with permanent coordination mechanisms and collective solutions to common challenges,” he stated.
The construction of the centre was funded by the World Bank and cooperation partners, said the president, expressing his gratitude for the support given to the protection of essential natural resources, regional integration and the building of “a safer and more prosperous future” for the SADC region.
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