III. The issue of illegal, unreported and unregulated
fishing
«In Africa's coastal waters, IUU fishing has reached
epidemic proportions. This plunder
destroys entire coastal communities when
they lose the opportunities to catch, process and
trade. Commercial trawlers
that operate under flags of convenience, and unload in ports that
do not
record their catch, are engaging in organised theft disguised as
commerce.» (Kofi
Annan 2014)
1. Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing:
consequences and response to a widespread practice
Approximatively 20% of the fish caught worldwide is likely to
be from IUU fishing, this represents an annual value of US$ 17 billion (Agnew,
et al. 2009). West African bountiful waters draw foreign vessels mostly from
the EU and Asia that seek to satisfy the growing demand of their domestic
market (FAO 2014). A handful of them illegally operate on West African waters
using unsustainable and dangerous technics that encourage the depletion of fish
stocks and jeopardize the existence of SSF (Daniels, et al. 2016).
a. 55
How does Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing
occur?
Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is a set of
dangerous practices which threaten marine resources, especially in developing
countries where governments lack the capacity to enforce adequate regulations.
IUU sabotages governments efforts to sustainably manage their marine resources
and preserve the biodiversity of the oceans. Driven by the quest of profit
individual as well as companies of all size bypass international, regional and
national laws and jurisdiction. IUU happens at all stages of the fishing
process and can occur on high seas as well as closest to the shore where SSFs
operate (FAO 2014).
Illegal Unreported and Unregulated fishing occurs in 4 cases.
First, when vessels fish without adequate permission in water under the
jurisdiction of another country. Second, when vessels fish using the flag of a
country party to a regional agreement but in violation of applicable law.
Third, when fishing is not properly reported to national or regional
authorities in charge. Last, vessels operating exempt of nationality using the
flag of a country that is not party to any national or regional agreement
(International MCS Network s.d.)
More than half of marine resources found on the West African
coast which spans from Senegal to Nigeria are irreversibly overfished (Daniels,
et al. 2016). While the IUU catches represent about 20% worldwide, the figure
goes as high as 45% in the sub-region (Africa Progress Panel 2014). According
to experts of the Marine Resources Assessment Group there are 3 types of IUU
fishing practices that are particularly concerning in West Africa:
«unlicensed foreign industrial vessels, fishing in prohibited areas
and fishing by artisanal vessels» (MRAG 2010). Those who fish in
prohibited areas often use illegal nets and operate too close to the shore
which regularly leads to confrontations between small-scale fishers and bigger
vessels. Some artisanal fisherfolks unfortunately participate in IUU fishing by
also using illegal nets that are too long with narrow mesh.
b. How does it impact fisherfolks?
According to the FAO close to 75% of fish stocks are entirely
exploited while 30% are overexploited worldwide. The overexploitation is a
direct consequence of the extensive size of the world's fleet. As of 2016, the
size if the world's fleet was 2.5 times bigger than the `sustainable extraction
level' that corresponds to the regeneration rate of fish (Daniels, et al.
2016). US$ 27 billion are estimated to be spent by coastal countries on
subsides and taxes exemptions. In Sierra
56
Leone, the government introduced investment incentives in
multiple sectors including fishery, that allow foreign investors to be
completely exempt from taxes for up to ten years (Leone s.d.). These subsidies
and tax exemption embolden those who practice IUU and diminishes efforts to
reduce and ultimately put an end to it. In addition, industrial fishing
technics such as trawling threatens the marine biodiversity by scraping seas
beds and therefore destroying the habitats of many species leading to a
decreased availability of fish altogether. What is most concerning being that
trawlers are essentially foreign, this means that besides damaging the coastal
environment they also take away from Sierra Leoneans SSFs a significant part of
the available marine resources. As a result, it is estimated that only about 2%
of the wealth originating from fishery went to Sierra Leoneans (World Bank
2017).
The mismanagement and overexploitation of West African fishery
resources led to ravaging socio-economic repercussions and SSFs with the
culture and traditions that come with them are disappearing (Daniels, et al.
2016). The MFMR stressed that Sierra Leone lost about US$ 29 million every year
due to IUU (GoSL, Agenda for Change 2008). The impact is most visible in SSFs
who represent the largest part of the fishing population and is also the most
vulnerable to any kind of disturbance, to this extent IUU fishing affect SSF
first. With their large contribution to employment, the economy and food
security their destabilisation can have major implication for the country as a
whole (FAO et NEPAD 2014). Artisanal fisherfolks who abide by the rules
established by the MFMR end up making less money as a result of not only
illegal but unfair practices. Part of the fish and fishery products obtained
from IUU fishing end up in the local market at low prices, establishing an
unfair competition for SSFs. While those who practice IUU manage to make profit
because they do not pay taxes, the SSFs are imposed low and disloyal prices
(Daniels, et al. 2016). Therefore, IUU fishing risks leaving small-scale
fisherfolks' in an exacerbated socioeconomic state where their livelihood and
food security are threatened (FAO 2014).
Sierra Leone's `Blackface'
On the island of Sherbo, the Boho people, a small fishing
community are regularly confronted with what they call a `blackface'. The
`blackface' is a reference to South Korean trawlers that fish close to the
coast, damaging the Boho people's artisanal fishing equipment. They reported
that since `blackfaces' started operating close to their island, local fish
stocks were noticeably low and fishing enough to get by became difficult as
there were forced to go into deeper waters.
57
They small boats become more dangerous as they sail into deep
waters and their costs rise because of an increased use of gas. The Boho people
declared that South Korean vessels frequently entered the 6 miles-zone
violating regulations established by the government. Sierra Leone introduced a
6 miles-zones from the shore exclusively reserved for artisanal fisherfolks in
order to preserve their livelihood. On top of illegally fishing in a reserved
area, South Korean fishers don't declare their catch to local authorities and
tranship the fish onto reefers in order to escape any kind of payment. As a
consequence of the widespread practice of IUU by South Korean vessels, the EU
put South Korea in its IUU blacklist back in 2013 (Rahimi Midani et Lee 2016).
Some fishermen feel so helpless in the face of the state's inability to act
that they come to regret the civil war during which boats of this type fled the
Sierra Leonean coasts (Daniels, et al. 2016) (Hyun-ju 2018).
c. Sierra Leone's response
The strategy against IUU is mostly developed in the A4P
through pillar n°1 and 2 with the goal of promoting and enforcing
sustainable fishing practices. Sierra Leone's government plans to establish
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) and create a local authority whose main role is
the monitoring of IUU. But to this day, those initiatives remain ineffective
due to lack of proper and clear definition and weak governance. Despite
unprecise statistics it appears that the overexploitation of most fish species
leads to the unsatisfying economic benefits generated through fishery. The MFMR
is the reference managing body which concentrates on issuing fishing licenses
instead of allocating resources to combat IUU also lacks manpower to enforce
legislations.
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