About FishFORCE

FishFORCE, an Academy for the training of officials who are involved in the fight against fisheries crime has been established at the Nelson Mandela University. This is a collaboration between the Nelson Mandela University and the Norwegian Government. The memorandum of understanding (attached to this page) was signed on Monday 6 June 2016.

The project will aim to establish fisheries crime law enforcement as a new and emerging fisheries compliance model and will endeavour to achieve knowledge and intelligence led investigations and increase successful prosecutions of criminals engaged in fisheries crime.  Whilst building capacity, the project will also enable fisheries law enforcement officers to obtain formal qualifications in their chosen field of expertise.  These qualifications will include higher certificates, diplomas and a post-graduate diploma, which will also provide access to further academic qualifications.

The project will be approached in three phases namely:

• Phase 1: Establishment of a baseline of fisheries law enforcement and prosecutions and undertaking of pilot training;
• Phase 2: Establishing a regional training centre for Sub-Saharan Africa and coordinating with  strategic partners to facilitate cross-border and inter-agency law enforcement of fisheries crime;
• Phase 3: Adjustment and improvement of the geographical spread to countries in South-East Asia.