Illegal Fishing

ADF STAFF Ghana sees enormous potential in its blue economy, but faces threats including piracy, illegal fishing, drug smuggling and human trafficking. The new National Integrated Maritime Strategy (NIMS) aims to ensure that…

ADF STAFF A large industrial fishing vessel casts its massive net off the coast off Saint-Louis, Senegal. The net, which looks like a halo atop the water, can catch more fish in a week than an artisanal canoe can catch in a year. There…

ADF STAFF Illegal fishing is decimating South Africa’s once-thriving stocks of abalone, rock lobster and other marine species. As in other coastal nations, vessels engaged in illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in South…

ADF STAFF A growing number of foreign-owned vessels with a history of illegal fishing are flying Cameroon’s red, yellow and green flag. An Associated Press (AP) investigation found that 14 vessels hoisting Cameroonian flags are…

ADF STAFF African nations that join the Joint Analytical Cell (JAC) to counter illegal fishing can harness Skylight, a maritime monitoring tool that tracks fishing vessels in real time and alerts authorities to suspicious behavior. The…

ADF STAFF West African governments should consider renegotiating deals with foreign distant-water fishing companies that often offer little benefit to either party, according to a maritime expert at Duke University. Analyzing 2017…

ADF STAFF A collaboration of organizations is bringing more data, technology and analytics to the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. Global Fishing Watch, the International Monitoring, Control, and…

ADF STAFF Aidu Williams has spent 40 years fishing in Goderich wharf on the western axis of Sierra Leone’s Freetown peninsula. He used to go to sea and return with large coolers full of grouper and snapper in his wooden canoe, but…

ADF STAFF Artisanal fishermen in East Africa have relied on sea cucumbers for food and income for generations. Now, the leathery, pickle-shaped species is overfished in many parts of the region, including Kenya, Madagascar,…

ADF STAFF A Chinese fishing company with a five-year right to fish for shrimp in Madagascar has kept its boats idle this year as they do not have licenses to trawl. The company, Mada Fishery, has a dubious history. Three of its…