Authorities in West Africa seem unable or unwilling to tackle the mostly Chinese trawlers depleting stocks and undermining the local industry.
In recent decades, illegal large-scale fishing – locally known as “saiko” fishing – has exhausted marine resources and pushed the local fishing industry to the brink of collapse. A report by the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) found that tens of millions of dollars’ worth of fish is stolen through these methods each year. It also found that 90% of trawlers involved in this activity are Chinese-owned, though because foreign ownership of fishing boats is illegal in Ghana, they operate through local front companies.
Like other West African coastal states, the Ghanaian government has proven unable – or unwilling – to clamp down on this unsustainable activity. As a result, its fisheries face “imminent doom” that could affect the livelihoods of over 2.7 million people, according to the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Center. The depletion of local fishing also undermines food security in a country in which fish accounts for 60% of animal protein and there is no ready alternative…