As illegal industrial-scale fishing by foreign fleets pillages fish populations off Sierra Leone, despairing coastal communities say they feel powerless.
Every day, about 13,000 small boats cast off from Sierra Leone’s 314-mile (506km) coastline. Fisheries employ 500,000 of the west African nation’s nearly 8 million people, represent 12% of the economy and are the source of 80% of the population’s protein consumption.
But a dozen fishermen interviewed by the Guardian say their catch is dwindling rapidly due to sustained overfishing on a large scale. “Many years ago, you could see fish in the water from here, even big ones,” says Fofana. “Not any more. There’s less fish than ever before.”
Tombo’s fishing community put the blame squarely on foreign fleets. About 40% of industrial licences are owned by Chinese vessels; though legal, locals say they pay meagre fees for their permits, under-declare their catch and add little to the local economy.
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https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2022/feb/01/sierra-leone-families-starving-chinese-trawlers-industrial-overfishing-destroying-lives