Nelson Mandela University: Centre for Law in Action

We are proud to share that the FishFORCE side event for SADC and FCWC at the Our Ocean Conference in Mombasa, Kenya was met with outstanding feedback, commended for showcasing African leadership, transparency and cooperation in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. This was a team effort and we are grateful to everyone who worked tirelessly to make this event such a success.

The fight against IUU fishing is not just a regional issue, it is a global one and events like these remind us why collaboration and African leadership matter.

🔗 Check out some of the media coverage from the event in the links in the comments below.

SADC Stop Illegal Fishing

Officials from ZF Mgcawu District Municipality attended our Law Enforcement by Peace Officers for Environmental Health Practitioners course in Upington on the 18-22 May 2026. The session was facilitated by our expert Ms Petro van Der Westhuizen.
Our Law Enforcement by Peace Officers course for EHP's is specifically customised for Environmental Health Practitioners to equip them with the knowledge and understanding of the legislation they deal with on a daily basis.
Delegates were all found competent at the end of the training session 👏👏

The Faculty of Law, FishForce is proud to announce its co-hosting of a side event at the Our Ocean Conference (OOC11), taking place in Mombasa, Kenya, from 16–18 June 2026. This marks the first time this prestigious global conference will be hosted on African soil.

The FishFORCE Academy has been identified as a contributing partner and supporting host for this high-level side event. The event is co-organised by the SADC MCSCC and the Fisheries Committee for the West Central Gulf of Guinea (FCWC) Regional Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Centre (RMCSC). It will bring together African Ministers, regional fisheries bodies, international organisations, and key partners to highlight the impact of regional cooperation in combating IUU fishing and related fisheries crime. FishFORCE joins partners including Stop Illegal Fishing, TMT, WWF, and Oceans 5.

The side event will:

• Showcase key enforcement case studies, including the FV Premier and FV Nova Zeelandia, demonstrating how inter-regional information sharing and coordinated monitoring have disrupted transnational illegal fishing operations across the Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions of Africa.
• Present the vision of “African Vigilance”, a proposed pan-African network linking fisheries Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) centres to improve intelligence sharing and transparency on fishing vessels and operations.
• Seek Ministerial commitments toward developing Regional Records and Registers of Fishing Vessels, aligned with the FAO Global Record and international transparency standards.
• Call on global partners to support and invest in African-led MCS cooperation frameworks.

FishFORCE’s participation in OOC11 highlights its growing role as a credible technical partner in African ocean governance. It reflects the Academy’s commitment to elevating African perspectives in global fisheries policy and translating operational enforcement experience into high-level advocacy and strategic action.

https://ouroceankenya.com/

The SADC Monitoring, Control and Surveillance Coordination Centre (MCSCC) in collaboration with FishFORCE and Stop Illegal Fishing is pleased to invite you to the Webinar “Protecting our fisheries from the disaster of monofilament nets: a regional call for action”, 20 May 2026, 14.00 (GMT+2), Zoom

Link to the webinar via Zoom: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/85205352827?pwd=qWN6Wa3SJyhhixpDWui6bJh5lzOrVH.1

We are looking forward to your participation.

Join our Cloud HD Video Meeting Zoom is the leader in modern enterprise cloud communications.

We are proud to share that Prof Hennie van As participated in the Globalization, Illicit Trade, Sustainability & Security (GLITSS) COST Action Roundtable on Responses to Illicit Trade, a critical conversation tackling one of the most pressing challenges facing our global society today.

Illicit trade threatens security, sustainability and the integrity of international markets. It takes a united, interdisciplinary response to fight back and this roundtable brings together leading scholars, practitioners and civil society voices to do exactly that.
Watch the full roundtable here:

GLITSS Roundtable: Training on Illicit Trade How can we better develop useful practices in training on illicit trade? This roundtable explores how knowledge on illicit trade is transmitted in training a...