A new report on Chinese companies’ illegal fishing practices in West
African waters was recently released by the environmental watchdog, Greenpeace.
The report showed irresponsible Chinese Distant Water Fishing (DWF) companies,
including China’s largest DWF company - China National Fisheries Corporation
(CNFC) undermining the long-term sustainability of West Africa’s fisheries
through persistent Illegal, Unreported
and Unregulated (IUU) fishing practices, including systematic fishing
vessel tonnage fraud and the exportation of a destructive fisheries model. It observed
that West African fisheries resources are increasingly being overfished and
that, while these Chinese DWF companies’ activities contribute little to
China's overall overseas investments, they undermine the mutually-beneficial partnership
which the Chinese government is seeking with African countries. The report
further went on to call on the Chinese government to urgently reform its DWF
regulatory framework and management system to close the loopholes that have
allowed Chinese companies to overfish and flout rules with quasi impunity for
decades. It also called on West African governments to urgently strengthen
governance and adopt and implement policies to ensure that the exploitation of
their marine resources is environmentally sustainable and socially equitable. The
report ended with a plea that all States concerned should also adopt and
implement effective national and regional plans of action to combat and deter
IUU fishing in the region.
I add my voice to the call of Greenpeace, that while West African
governments wake up to their responsibilities, sub-regional governments like
Bayelsa State should put in measures to combat IUU within the state by enacting
into law the Fisheries Bill that has been packaged and submitted to the State’
Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources by the Bayelsa State Chapter of Fisheries Society of Nigeria (FISON). It
should also establish an effective, well equipped and
funded Monitoring, Control and Surveillance unit (MCS) in the State Department
of fisheries to ensure sustainability of fisheries resources.
