Western Africa’s missing fish : The impacts of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and under-reporting catches by foreign fleets




Nombre de page : 45

Date de publication : 01-01-2000

Edition : Non défini

Auteur : Alfonso Daniels, Miren Gutiérrez et al.

Type : Rapports

Theme :


Overfishing in the world’s oceans is at the centre of a crisis of sustainability. Nowhere is that crisis more visible than in western Africa. Current rates of extraction are driving several species towards extinction while jeopardising the livelihoods of artisanal fishing communities across a broad group of countries, including Senegal, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Mauritania. Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is at the heart of the problem. Drawing on a unique satellite tracking database, this report presents new evidence of the scale and pattern of IUU fishing. It focuses on ‘reefers’ – large-scale commercial vessels receiving and freezing fish at sea and at port – and the use of containers. We provide evidence of practices that compromise the effectiveness of multilateral governance rules aimed at curtailing IUU fishing and promoting sustainable, legal practices. Proposals set out in the report identify pathways for countries in sub-Saharan Africa to greater transparency and sustainable management of fisheries which avoids the irreversible depletion and possible extinction of species, as well as the preservation of the marine ecosystem where the fishing activities take place for countries in sub-Saharan Africa

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