When will we see a renewal of West African fisheries laws?
A few weeks ago, television channels worldwide showed, in a loop, what is now called the "tragedy of the Mediterranean". The lifeless bodies, of at least 800 young Africans, including women and children, caught in the trap of what they believed to be a gateway to a world of security and toward better living conditions.
To understand what led these young people to this extreme situation to reach a "hypothetical eldorado", the state of the fisheries sector in West Africa, offers an interesting space for analysis of the situation. Indeed, every time I visit traditional fishermen communities in the region, I remain speechless to their stories about harsh living conditions. Because of the increasingly scarce fish, they sail further every day, risking their lives by fishing farther from their traditional fishing grounds. Everyday, they face prevalent poverty and food insecurity, threatening their survival and that of their communities.
New developments in this sector are far from reassuring. Scientific studies on West African fisheries show a grim picture of the current situation. The new report, titled “Scam on the West African coast: the dark side of Chinese fishing companies in Senegal, Guinea and Guinea Bissau” launched today by Greenpeace Africa, darkens an already unbearable picture for me.
While in the past I thought that, as a committed Greenpeace campaigner at the forefront of the fight against overfishing in West Africa, I was aware of questionable and illegal practices by fishing companies operating in the region. However, the content of this report has completely undermined my convictions. I am shocked by the ingenuity and incredible creativity of Chinese fishing companies who plunder fisheries resources in West Africa and throw thousands of people into poverty and dispair.
Taking advantage of the weaknesses of fisheries management systems implemented by coastal states (and sometimes the duplicity of local authorities) some Chinese companies, including the state-owned China National Fisheries Corporation (CNFC), have set upon widespread underreporting of their fishing vessels’ gross tonnage in Senegal, Guinea and Guinea Bissau.
This practice is illegal and punishable under the national laws of the various countries concerned. It is also an infraction according to the international law and is now jeopardizing fisheries management efforts implemented by the different coastal states.
While we can try to assess losses to the affected States, in terms of foregone government revenue, social and environmental impacts are difficult to quantify. More so since this fraudulent practice has occurred in countries such as Senegal, for almost three decades.
The scandal comes at a time when some countries in the sub-region, Senegal and Guinea in particular, have embarked on a process of reviewing their fisheries legislation. An unprecedented opportunity to lay the foundations for new fishing policies that can bring lasting solutions to the many ailments that this highly strategic sector is suffering.
However, in Senegal, we are still far from what should be a satisfactory participation of stakeholders in this process for greater transparency. While we are moving towards the adoption of these new laws by Senegal’s National Assembly in the coming months, repeated calls by Greenpeace and the Senegalese civil society[1], on its’ shortcomings, have been unheard.
At the regional level, the Ministers of Fisheries of the various State members of the Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission unanimously signed the Convention of the Minimal Conditions of Access and Exploitation of fishery resources in 2012, within the Marine areas under jurisdiction of Member States of the SRFC[2]. This document lays down the foundation for cooperation between the different Member States in fighting against illegal fishing and sharing of information on fishing vessels operating in their respective Exclusive Economic Zones.
At this level, the information published in this report suggests that we are still very far from cooperation. Why a same vessel can operate from one country to another with different capacities declared to each local authority, is worrisome
Beyond the questions of morality and legality, this report outlines the shortcomings of the national fishing vessel management systems and sub-regional cooperation in this region.
In addition, it questions the guilty silence of the Chinese government on illegal activities of some of its fishing companies operating in West Africa which undermine the livelihoods of fishing communities, the coastal countries development policies and taint the China-Africa partnership that some critics describe as anything but a win-win situation.
My hope is that this report will be a turning point for the States concerned whether coastal or flagged for a renewal of fisheries in West Africa. I also hope that the future will be less painful for our people who will not be trapped in this desperate situation that pushes them to embark on a dangerous and hopeless journey through the meditareanean in search of an uncertain future.
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Download the full report: "Scam on the African Coast"
[1] http://www.greenpeace.org/africa/Global/africa/publications/RecommandationsCodeDécret.pdf
[2] https://www.itlos.org/fileadmin/itlos/documents/cases/case_no.21/Convention_CMA_ENG.pdf