Barthelémy Blédé, a key Expert in the Support to West Africa Integrated Maritime Security Project, said Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing remains one of the most feared maritime threats in the Gulf of Guinea.

This is due to the detrimental effects of IUU on the economy, food security, employment, and marine environment, as well as its links to transnational organised crime, he said.

Mr Blede said this in a presentation on IUU fishing at the ongoing two-week course on Maritime Security and Transnational Organised Crime (MSTOC), organized by the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre (KAIPTC) with support from the German Government.

He indicated that the actions devoted to IUU fishing were thwarted by many challenges, including weak cooperation, a lack of transparency and corruption.

As responsibilities were shared, only a convergence of actions between national, regional, and international actors could eradicate it, as no state could overcome maritime insecurity alone, he said.

Some of the countermeasures that countries could adopt in the fight against IUU include improving inter-agency cooperation, coordination, and communication, transparency in the issuance of fishing licenses; adopting more restrictive legislation; and fighting corruption.

Other measures on the national level are the reinforcement of surveillance, control, and monitoring of personnel and equipment, the involvement of civil society organisations, as well as the development of aquaculture.

Mr Blédé said on the regional level, there was the need to strengthen the architecture of the Yaoundé Code and information sharing, with the strengthening of cooperation between the states of the region.

He called for the finalisation and implementation of regional instruments to support sub-regional fisheries management organisations.

On the international level, an end must be put to subsidies offered to fishing companies coming to fish in the regional waters as done in China, the EU, the United States, Korea, and Japan, he said.

Sanctions must be given against lax countries, while support must be given to fisheries and aquaculture projects and programmes.

Mentioning some of the consequences of IUU fishing, Mr Blede said economically it led to a loss of value for legal fishers, a failure in revenues from taxation and licensing, and the disorganisation of the national economy.

Socially, it could lead to food insecurity, unemployment, and poverty among coastal dwellers and fishermen and could fuel organised crimes, piracy, and attacks on surveillance officers.

“Environmentally, IUU fishing destroys marine habitats, leads to the disappearance of species, and causes marine pollution.”