Marine and coastal areas are no longer the exclusive playground of fisheries. For more than 15 years, the oil and gas sector has been a major stakeholder, local and international shipping is increasing and urban and industrial development threatens ecosystems. This has not been entirely anticipated by the government. Many departments have prerogatives but none is in charge of global coordination. Thus, there is a gap in the law regarding marine spatial planning. It is commonly assessed that civil society has to take a major part in negotiations for the corresponding policies implying capacity building for these actors. The programme works as a facilitator by creating overlaps and joint-activities between the stakeholders. In this regard, a ship-based seabird and marine mammal survey is co-financed by the private sector and brings aboard scientists from the Mauritanian Institute for Oceanography and Fisheries, civil servant from the Ministry of Environment, civil society and students along with international experts. These joint-activities will be shaped as a multi-partner platform enabling mutual understanding, creating trust and making up an operational entity towards sustainable governance of the sea and its resources.