Illegal Fishing

ADF STAFF The Baba Ali, a Seychellois fishing vessel, was passing through the Seychelles exclusive economic zone (EEZ) when authorities intercepted it in May 2021. Through an operation coordinated by the Seychelles Air Force,…

ADF STAFF Michael was uneasy about taking a job aboard a Chinese trawler in the Gulf of Guinea. A young man from central Ghana, Michael had to feed his family, but didn’t like the idea of working on the kind of industrial vessel that…

ADF STAFF In its continuing efforts to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, Kenya ratified the Cape Town Agreement (CTA) and the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping…

ADF STAFF The European Commission has offered to deploy the European Union’s (EU) border agency, known as Frontex, to Senegal to help it battle illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and stop migrant smuggling. If Senegal…

ADF STAFF Obangame Express 2022, the joint international exercise aimed at improving maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea and Atlantic Ocean, produced real-world results in mid-March. As 32 nations participated in this year’s…

ADF STAFF The inflatable boat zipped across the water toward the waiting ship carrying a half-dozen Angolan Marines. A few minutes later, the Marines were on board the ship and searching for their targets. The assault was a drill —…

ADF STAFF For three decades, foreign vessels have targeted Sierra Leone’s waters for sardines, shrimp, bonga shad and grouper, much of which is sold overseas. The activity of industrial trawlers puts the livelihoods of 500,000…

ADF STAFF China’s distant-water fishing fleet (DWF) has targeted Gulf of Guinea waters in West and Central Africa for decades. Now, the region is rapidly running out of fish, driving food insecurity and loss of income for millions of…

ADF STAFF Rampant overfishing, driven by the demands of the global fishmeal and fish oil industry, is leading to food insecurity in West Africa. Artisanal fishermen around the region have angrily denounced the presence of fish oil…

ADF STAFF Under overcast skies, Ghanaian fishermen in a wooden canoe strained to haul in their fishing nets through choppy waters 17 kilometers off the coast. Despite hours of struggle, their nets were mostly empty. “I am not…