Description
In February 2012, in Bangkok, Thailand, at the INTERPOL Pollution Crime and Wildlife Crime Working Group, side meetings were conducted to address the problem of illegal fishing and crossover crimes as a transnational issue that needs to be combated. As a result of these meetings, the Fisheries Crime Working Group (FCWG) was set up to focus on fisheries crime, particularly in the West African coastal states.
The FCWG initiates and leads a number of projects to detect and combat fisheries crime.
The Working Group has four strategic goals:
- Enhance and develop the capacity, capability and cooperation of member countries to effectively enforce fisheries and crossover crimes
- Encourage and assist the exchange of information and intelligence related to fisheries crime among member countries
- Provide analytical and operational support to member countries in the enforcement of fisheries laws and regulations;
- Encourage and facilitate networking, channels of communication and exchange of technical expertise between member countries for the purpose of fisheries law enforcement.
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