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18th Apr 13

Managed by Chatham House

Financed by DEFRA

Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone has a coastline of 330km with a continental shelf of about 600km2. Industrial marine fisheries are made up of local trawlers or shrimpers owned by Sierra Leoneans or chartered through local agreements, and produce fish for the local market as well as high-priced products such as shrimp, cuttlefish, tuna, spiny lobster and some finfish.

There is also a foreign fleet exploiting pelagic and demersal stocks. The number of companies has reduced significantly in recent years and today there are only seven or eight registered fishing companies operating 40-50 vessels in Sierra Leone waters. Three of these operate under joint venture agreements between Sierra Leone, China and South Korea. None of these companies has processing facilities on shore and much of the catch is transshipped to carrier vessels, which take the produce to Las Palmas in the Canary Islands.

Artisanal fishing is carried out by 7,000 canoes fishing in the 3-5 nautical mile Inshore Exclusive Zone (IEZ). About 80,000 people make their living through fishing along the length of the coast. The artisanal fisheries produce around 70% of the fish consumed by the domestic market, contributing significantly to the protein intake of the population, although the value of this catch, and hence incomes, is low.

Sierra Leone loses an estimated $29 million each year from illegal fishing. According to local fishers, trawlers have been a particular problem in recent years, entering the inshore areas, causing great danger to small boats, cutting local fishers' nets and depleting stocks. Trawlers should, in theory, be fined $30,000 for entering inshore areas, but this is rarely enforced. The Fisheries Ministry does not have the logistical capacity to carry out surveillance and has handed over the task to the navy, however, enforcement is sporadic, partly, it is alleged, due to corruption.

A number of initiatives are under way to tackle illegal fishing in Sierra Leone waters. The UK Department for International Development (DfID) is providing ££15 million to help fishermen in Sierra Leone to stamp out illegal fishing, including training for coastal authorities and setting up a tracing scheme that will track fish being exported to the EU. Sierra Leone will also benefit from a plan to tackle piracy and crime syndicates, developed by the International Maritime Organisation's security division, aimed at 25 countries in West and Central Africa. The plan involves linking coastguards with Interpol, the FAO, UNHCR, insurers and other partners, and will include action against illegal fishing.

documents (3)
news (63)

documents

Dirty Fish: How EU Hygiene Standards Facilitate Illegal Fishing in West Africa
09/06/2009
This report claims that investigations by the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) have demonstrated direct links between pirate fishing in the West ...
Author: Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF)

Corruption and Industrial Fishing in Africa
01/12/2008
Africas marine resources are increasingly in demand and are gaining in geopolitical importance. Competition between key fishing nations for access and ...
Author: Anti-Corruption Resource Centre (Andre Standing)

The Fight Against IUU Fishing in West Africa: Good Governance and Regional Cooperation are Top Priorities
08/10/2007
In an information note, the Coalition for Fair Fisheries Arrangements (CFFA) comments on the arrest two weeks ago by the Sierra Leone navy of eight Gu ...
Author: CFFA

news

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