A collection of East African government officials, community leaders, and marine experts and conservationists have committed to strengthen the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, which costs the region an estimated $415 million annually.
The agreement, which seeks to improve regional collaboration against illegal fishing, was reached during a roundtable discussion organized by The Jahazi Project in Dar-es-Salaam, Tanzania. The project, named after the traditional Swahili dhow, is a marine conservation initiative run by Ascending Africa, headquartered in Dar-es-Salaam.
Michael Mallya, spokesperson for The Jahazi Project, noted that Tanzania alone loses an estimated $142.8 million annually to illegal fishing, while the scourge accounts for up to 40% of Kenya’s total catch. Illegal fishing by foreign industrial and semi-industrial vessels threatens the livelihoods of 3 million people.
“The East African coastline, one of the most vital marine ecosystems on the planet, is under assault from unacceptable practices that deplete fish stocks, destroy habitats, and undermine food security,” Mallya said in a report by the International Collective in Support of Fishworkers. “We are here to chart a way forward together. If we are to turn the tide, we need to build a regional coalition.”
East African fish are targeted by foreign industrial trawlers, many from China, which commands the world’s largest distant-water fishing fleet and is the world’s worst illegal fishing offender, according to the IUU Fishing Risk Index. Of the top 10 companies engaged in illegal fishing globally, eight are from China. Due to the practices of Beijing’s trawlers, West Africa is now the world’s hotspot for illegal fishing.
Nations participating in the pact include Comoros, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique and Tanzania. Organizations including Blue Ventures, a nonprofit marine conservation organization; Northern Rangelands Trust, a Kenyan membership organization that supports 45 community conservancies across northern and coastal Kenya and Uganda; and the Wildlife Conservation Society shared models on community-led patrols, gear exchange programs and data-driven conservation.
The discussion included panels on the scope and effects of illegal fishing in Tanzania.
Mathew Silas, acting manager for fisheries research and development at Tanzania’s Deep Sea Fishing Authority, described how the country uses technology to address illegal fishing.
“We are using VMS [Vessel Monitoring Systems], AIS [Automatic Identification Systems], and satellite overlays to track suspicious activity” in the country’s more than 240,000-square-kilometer exclusive economic zone, Silas said in the Collective report. Silas noted that Tanzania also recently ratified its Port State Measures Agreement, an international pact designed to prevent vessels involved in illegal fishing from offloading their catch in the country.
Baraka Sekadende, assistant director of fisheries in Tanzania’s Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries, said concerted efforts had reduced incidents of blast fishing — or fishing with explosives — from up to 30 per day to almost none. Blast fishing is done by Chinese and other foreign fishing fleets around Africa. However, an impediment to sustained efforts is “limited resources, both in funding and human capacity” Sekadende said.
The stakeholders committed to five key action points:
1. Strengthen regional collaboration through knowledge sharing and coordinated enforcement.
2. Empower local communities to lead monitoring and surveillance efforts.
3. Engage young people and foster tech-driven innovation.
4. Improve public awareness on the harms of illegal fishing.
5. Promote sustained policy dialogue to ensure accountable action.
“The pact will be judged on whether it delivers real benefits for legal fishers and ensures illegal catch is kept out of the region’s ports and markets,” Mallya said in report by Kenyan newspaper The Star.