BBC News (via Yahoo) reports that Chinese fishing trawlers are devastating fishing grounds near the coast of Sierra Leone in an official exclusion zone; and, according to the fishermen, even cutting the nets and line used by the native fishers. More generally, the article explains:
West Africa remains the global epicentre for illegal fishing. An estimated 40% of the world's unlicensed catch can be traced to its waters, according to a 2024 global report.
The study estimated that this costs West African nations a combined $10bn in lost revenues, and risks the food security of millions of people. Commentators say that the situation has not improved in the subsequent two years.
Thomas Turay, president of Sierra Leone's Fishermen's Union, says that the average catches for his members are down some 40% in recent years. And he's in no doubt where the blame lies.
"The illegal fishing is too much," he says. "The sea belongs to us, but for the foreign trawlers, they come at night and violate the seven-mile exclusion zone, they come right into the shore here."
And according to the fishermen, the overwhelming majority of the illegal fishing is done by Chinese vessels (as if that should surprise anyone).
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