The Republic of Congo's coastal and offshore waters represent a key transition area between the warmer, more turbid Gulf of Guinea and the cooler waters of southern Africa, making for some of the most productive fishing zones in the world. Threatened nesting sea turtles rely on the country's beaches, and its coastal waters are important habitat for many cetaceans, including migrating humpback whales, Brydes and sperm whales, and Critically Endangered Atlantic humpback dolphins. The Congo Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) contributes significantly to food security and poverty alleviation in fisheries-dependent coastal communities, but, like fishing grounds the world over, this zone is also highly vulnerable to Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) exploitation. To tackle this issue WCS Congo, together with the Congolese Government and other partners, has initiated a broad marine conservation program aimed at strengthening and increasing Marine Protected Areas (MPA) as well as ensuring the sustainable management of marine resources.