GLOCEPS Participates at the 11th Our Ocean Conference (OOC11)
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As global leaders, policymakers, researchers, and maritime stakeholders convene in Mombasa and Kilifi Counties, Kenya for the 11th Our Ocean Conference (16–18 June 2026), the Global Centre for Policy and Strategy (GLOCEPS) is proud to contribute to the growing conversation on ocean governance, maritime security, and the future of the blue economy in the Western Indian Ocean.
On 14th June 2026, during the Pre-Symposium Session, Dr. Dinah Ogara, presented a policy paper co-authored with Stephen Nduvi titled:
“Strengthening Governance and Community Institutions to Combat Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing in the Western Indian Ocean.”
The brief advanced a critical argument:
- IUU fishing is driven not only by illegal fishing activity, but by weaknesses in fisheries information system, reporting, and enforcement systems.
Far too often, vessels are detected but not sanctioned. Information is collected but never converted into actionable evidence. Communities report suspicious activities but remain disconnected from national enforcement mechanisms. As a result, gaps in the evidence chain continue to create opportunities for illegal operators to exploit marine resources with limited accountability.
Key highlights of the presentation include:
- Effective deterrence requires an evidence-led governance framework that integrates vessel transparency, interagency coordination, and community based surveillance.
- Beach Management Units (BMUs) are frontline information actors, generating valuable information on fishing activities, vessel movements, and compliance risks, yet they remain weakly integrated into national Monitoring, Control and Surveillance (MCS) systems.
- Sustainable fisheries management depends on the ability to know who is fishing, where they are fishing, what they are catching, and under what authority.
- Regional maritime security and ocean sustainability cannot be achieved through technology alone. They require stronger institutions, trusted reporting mechanisms, and coordinated enforcement systems.
To strengthen the fight against IUU fishing, GLOCEPS calls for:
- Secure digital reporting platforms for BMUs
- Legal protections and safeguards for community informants
- Enhanced landing site verification and fisheries traceability systems
- Institutionalized feedback loops linking local information to enforcement action
- Greater regional cooperation and data sharing across the Western Indian Ocean
