The IMCS Network, together with TM-Tracking and Global Fishing Watch have established a new, collaborative initiative to strengthen fisheries monitoring and enforcement. Funded with generous support from the Bloomberg Vibrant Oceans Initiative, the Joint Analytical Cell (JAC) aims to bolster national and regional MCS and compliance mechanisms that target IUU fishing and associated activities. The JAC provides national fisheries agencies and other partners with access to data and intelligence and the training needed to use them effectively.
The IMCS Network will lead Joint Analytical Cell efforts to conduct in-country MCS assessments to build capacity in the use of a variety of Maritime Domain Awareness platforms and data analytics. We will work to improve cooperation and collaboration in the fight against IUU fishing and offer partners a better understanding of activities occurring in their waters and effective responses. JAC support, including training and analytical products as well as access to technology platforms, will be provided free of charge.
There are five key focus areas for this first phase of the JAC:
Port controls and vessel risk assessment.
Fisheries patrol planning and support.
Transhipment monitoring.
MCS capacity building.
Global issues of interest.
Some JAC intelligence outputs will be delivered directly to country and other partners but we will also seek to make information available to all countries that can use it, via the IMCS Network and in some cases through public reports. On the technology side, we take a streamlined approach so that partner countries are provided with access and training on the tools and data that will be of greatest benefit to them.
Development of new partnerships and collaborations is central to how the JAC operates. Whilst the JAC is operational in its focus, we will also make key findings available to help inform the global debate and ‘evidence-base’ fisheries management, policy, and legal reform efforts. While the JAC becomes established, our support will be focused primarily on those regions where the founding members already have an established presence - in particular East and West Africa, Latin America and the Pacific.
Looking to the future, we aim to expand the reach of the JAC, based on the integration of new partners and support to new partner countries, building on the methods and approaches developed during the first phase, as well as the tools, expertise and networks that new partnerships and collaborations will bring. In this way, the JAC aims to represent a significant step towards the universal ability for countries to access and effectively use a combination of information, technology and capacity to make better informed decisions that will strengthen fisheries governance.
Network Members who would like more information on becoming involved in the JAC should contact Damian Johnson, Senior MCS Specialist, IMCS Network: djohnson@imcsnet.org.
Download more information about the JAC in English
Download the JAC launch press release in English