Pirate fishing in West Africa - What can be done to prevent this crime?
When did the problem of pirate fishing first start to appear in West Africa?
While fish stocks have always been vulnerable to overfishing, wide-scale overexploitation really started with the development of the distant water fishing fleets from the 1950s.
It now seems clear that, globally, marine capture fisheries are at their limits. The latest United Nations report tells us that around 80% of our marine fisheries are fully exploited, over-exploited or in decline. Unless we introduce stricter limits on extraction, better management and, crucially, better enforcement, we will see the collapse of multiple fisheries and with that increased poverty and food insecurity; the loss of income and employment and the degradation of our marine environment with a likely massive loss of biodiversity.
Is it a problem across the whole region?
Pirate fishing is a problem throughout West African waters, and area which has been identified as one of the world's worst affected in recent reports.
Is it possible to know where the ships are coming from - And where they are selling their catch?
Yes, but this is often difficult. Vessels are obligated by international and national laws to visibly identify the countries to which they are flagged. However, some illegal operators obscure their identification markings or operate under flags of convenience (open shipping registries that do not enforce their fisheries management obligations) to hide their beneficial ownership and the countries that they originate from.
Pirate fishing off West Africa
The Environmental Justice Foundation's (EJF) Executive Director, Steve Trent, kindly answered our questions about the problems caused by pirate fishing off the coast of West Africa.
Mr Trent said "Pirate fishing, driven by a growing unsustainable global demand for seafood, is now threatening the future of world fisheries. There are profound social, economic, and environmental impacts, not least the appalling exploitation and abuse crews aboard these vessels can face. It is simply not acceptable that illegal fishing vessels are able to operate outside the law."
I assume that the countries of West Africa don't have the resources to control this problem. What other solutions are there?
While the limited resources of many West African countries is an issue, the value of the stolen fisheries resources far outweigh the costs of measures to resolve pirate fishing. For example, sub-Saharan Africa is estimated to lose 1 billion USD per year to IUU fishing. Improving institutional capacity and effective fisheries governance is the key issue.
Cooperation between international, regional and local agencies and Governments is required to address this problem. For example, Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) is working with communities and Government in Sierra Leone to build their capacity to address pirate fishing. EJF's community surveillance programme identifies pirate fishing vessels to enable national and international authorities to prosecute them. Much can be done at a local level by involving those who depend most directly on fisheries, engaging local communities in conservation and monitoring and allowing them to reap the benefits of securing sustainable fisheries.
It is vital that we see far greater trans-boundary collaboration to combat pirate fishing operations and on a global level there are simple, cheap and effective changes to international controls that could be introduced, including a ban on so-called Flags of Convenience and the introduction of a global record of fishing vessels. These two measures alone would make a major difference.
We also need to see corporate interests in the largest consuming markets take some responsibility, working harder to ensure they know where the fish they sell comes from, how it was caught and that it is legal and harvested sustainably. Consumers can take action by demanding sustainably and legally caught fish. Ultimately we believe that there is an over-riding need for full supply chain transparency in the international markets for fish - it needs to be much easier for businesses and consumers to know when, where and how their fish was caught.
Have Greenpeace, Sea Shepherd or any other well known environmental organisations run any campaigns in an effort to prevent the pirate fishing?
Yes, many NGOs are working to resolve this global issue, including Greenpeace, Oceana, Sea Shepherd and WWF.
I assume that the ships are not marked, and fly flags of convenience? How can you identify the ships and their country of origin?
Yes, many ships operate under Flags of Convenience, which along with shell companies and ‘flag hopping' can make it extremely difficult to identify and penalise their beneficial owners. Identification is often impossible without the support of the Flag State, which is often either unable or unwilling to enforce its fisheries management obligations. However, many IUU vessels operate under flags of non-compliance - where countries do not effectively regulate their national fleets.
How can UK residents help the fight against this daylight robbery?
Some UK retailers have fairly good supply chain processes to ensure that their fish does not originate from IUU sources. However, UK residents can help ensure that UK supply chains remain transparent by being proactive in demanding sustainably caught, legal fish from their retailers and restaurants and making sure that these businesses do have the necessary controls to ensure damaging fishing practices are not part of their supply chain. We can also help by supporting organisations that are working to hold businesses and governments to account, that are working hard to build sustainability and make sure these invaluable resources are not destroyed.
