SWIOFC is a statutory established by FAO Council to promote sustainable development, conservation and management of shared resources in its region

The South West Indian Ocean Fisheries Commission (SWIOFC), held from 28 to 29 Jun 2017, at AFRIN Hotel, in Maputo, its fifth Working Party meeting on Fisheries Data and Statistics (WPFS), to analyze and share updating informations on improvements in the fishery data collection management at SWIOFC member countries since last year. The meeting also discussed the catch statistics, availability of information through statistical bulletins and review the developments of the recommednations of the last working party meeting which also was held in Maputo in 2016.

At the oficial opening of the event, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of the Sea, Inland Waters and Fisheries of Mozambique, Mr Narci Nuro de Premegi reitered that the “The Working Party on Data Collection and Statistics has been created to support member states in providing data and scientific information for taking adequate management measures to ensure sustainability of the fisheries resources in our region and the Mozambique Government is in process of redesigning instruments for improving of the fisheries statistics system”.

The event was attended by 37 representatives of countries such as the Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Somalia, South África and Tanzania, including Mozambique as host country.

The  SWIOFC interim secretary, Mr Vasco Schmidt, in his speech highlighted that " the main purpose of this Working Party is to receive updates of the status of fisheries data collection by member countries of the SWIOFC, and assist in improving the quality of information aiming to support fisheries management which ultimately can contribute to ensuring or improving livelihoods and reduce poverty in member countries”.

One of the most important points highlighted in this fifth meeting was the inclusion of more socio-economic information to inform fisheries management measures together with national statistics.

The South West Indian Ocean Fisheries Commission (SWIOFC) is a statutory body established by the FAO Council to promote the sustainable development, conservation and management of shared resources in its region, without prejudice to the sovereign rights of coastal countries. The Secretariat of the SWIOFC is located in Maputo at ADNAP office.

This Fifth Working Party was organized under the mandate of the South West Indian Ocean Fisheries Commission (SWIOFC), with the technical support of FAO Headquarters and the financial support of the Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) through the SWIOFish1 programme funded by the World Bank.