Chinese Ambassador Wu Peng, last weekend, told all Chinese fishing companies operating in Sierra Leone to avoid any illegal fishing activities in the country’s coastal waters.
During the meeting with Chinese fishers at his Wilberforce Loop Office, Ambassador Wu said the position of Chinese Government was very clear in opposing any kind of illegal fishing activities, and requires all Chinese vessels working in Sierra Leone to respect Sierra Leonean Government’s Law and supervision by Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, they must abide by the legislation and regulations in Sierra Leone.
Ambassador Wu noted when he assumed office as the Chinese Ambassador to Sierra Leone in November 2016, he took action to freeze the total number of Chinese fishing vessels to maintain sanity in the fishing industry. There should not be more vessels operating in Sierra Leone, because Chinese Government is also very concern about the problem of overfishing.
The four Chinese fishing vessels recently identified by Greenpeace have been dealt with and fined by the Sierra Leonean authorities. The owners and Captains of the Chinese vessels were present at the meeting with the Ambassador.
As he is representing the Chinese government in Sierra Leone he reaffirmed that they would take every step necessary to maintain rule of law on fishing along with Sierra Leone authorities.
He pointed out that the Chinese fishing companies were contributing to the economic development of the country and creating thousands of jobs for Sierra Leoneans. The blue economy was one of the pillar industries for this country.
However, he explained, the fishing companies were also faced with series of challenges ranging from the depreciation of the Leones against the U.S dollar, the hike in fuel price, increase in license fees for fish vessels, and low sale price of fish in local markets, etc.
He reiterated that none of those challenges should serve as any reason for any company to get involved in illegal fishing practices.
He noted that keeping Sierra Leone fishing industry sustainability and protecting ocean resources were in line with not only Sierra Leonean benefits but also fishing companies’ interests.
All the companies should work as development partners with Sierra Leone Authorities to help the fishing industry develop in a healthy way, and benefit the Sierra Leonean people.
The Economic and Commercial Counselor of Chinese Embassy, Mr. Shen Xiaokai noted that, the meeting was to create an understanding between the fishing companies and the Sierra Leone officials as to map the way forward for a better relationship and to know more about Sierra Leone’s fishing regulations. He said the Embassy shares similar values with the Ministry in terms of protecting and sustaining the marine resources.
The Acting Director and Head of Monitoring, Control and Surveillance, at the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources that was invited to the meeting to explain to the fishermen. Victor Kargbo told the representatives of the various Chinese fishing companies that fishing involved huge capital investment, therefore, the companies need to know the country’s fishing regulation before they get involved in any fishing business.
He said as a sovereign State, Sierra Leone was party to several international treaties that seek to protect marine resources and as such they needed to go by those treaties. He also stated that, Chinese contribution towards national development was immense and that the Ministry of Fisheries appreciates the efforts and would ensure a friendly atmosphere for fishing businesses in the country. He said a copy of the new regulations would be forwarded to the Embassy to be distributed among the fishing companies.
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