Trawlers are remaining silent in the face of the ravages of illegal fishing in the Gulf of Guinea region, but not small-scale fishermen. The latter are pointing an accusing finger at industrial fishing.
Trawlers are said to be primarily responsible for a phenomenon that threatens marine biodiversity and the food security of coastal communities. And yet the international community seems to have moved on to the repressive phase, with Cameroon in particular serving as an example to other countries in the region. With an annual loss of revenue of just over 33 million dollars caused by illegal fishing, the Central African country was shown the red card by the European Commission on 5 January 2023, and given the status of “non-cooperating country in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU fishing)”.
His majesty Moussenga Masono is visibly angry at the trawlers (fishing boats) that fish with impunity in the marine area reserved for small-scale fishing (from zero to 6 nautical miles, or nearly 11 kilometres from the coast). “The problem with industrial fishing is its incursion into the area reserved for small-scale fishing. These people skim our coasts, destroying and carrying away local people’s nets. As a result, catches have become rare, and the fishermen whose nets have been destroyed or swept away by the trawlers are in distress, because they no longer have enough to feed their families”, explains the traditional chief of Campo beach, one of Cameroon’s traditional fishing centres, located in the south of the country, on the border with Equatorial Guinea.
In the border town of Campo, industrial fishing is transnational in nature. “The trawlers involved in these incursions are both Cameroonian and Guinean. We sometimes even see them in Manyange na Elombo (marine protected area). And when we alert the authorities, there’s no follow-up”, laments the traditional authority who took part in the workshop to raise awareness among journalists about illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU fishing), held from 7 to 10 June 2023 in Kribi, a coastal town also located in the south of Cameroon.
Small-scale fishing in Kribi is organised around the Mboa Manga landing stage. Opened in 2006, the centre handles almost 200 canoes every day. On site, we met Fabrice Junior Nguelly, who chaired the landing stage shipowners’ association for ten years. The operator paints a picture of a business that is on the wane.
“Fish are disappearing from our coasts. We’ve gone from catching at least 100 kilograms every two days to just 20 kg in all the landing stages. This is due to industrial fishing, which is scouring our coasts, including fish breeding grounds”, says the artisanal fisherman, adding: “That’s why we sell a kilogram of fish for 5,000 CFA francs ($8.28). And even at that price, it’s hard to make a profit because of the taxes and other charges (registration: 52,000 CFA francs a year, fishing licence: 5,000 CFA francs a year, dock dues, fuel, i.e. a minimum of 85,000 CFA francs, or 141 dollars per fishing trip — Editor’s note).
Intrusions by trawlers into the artisanal fishing zone often lead to collisions between fishing gear. Measuring around six metres long against a boat of around 28 metres, the pirogues are crushed, so much so that their occupants have sometimes lost their lives, as testimonies gathered at the Mboa Manga landing stage tell us.