EJF has been thanked by the Sierra Leone authorities for support and collaboration leading to the arrest of the pirate trawler APSARI-3.
London 2nd December 2008
The Commander of the Sierra Leone Navy, Daniel Mansaray said of EJF’s actions leading to the arrest of the trawler, “we wish to express our sincere thanks and gratitude to the Environmental Justice Foundation... and our full support for your activities to end illegal fishing in Sierra Leone”. EJF has been invesigating the extent and impacts of illegal fishing by foreign trawlers in Sierra Leone. A small team of EJF campaigners has been travelling up and down the country, working with local communities to identify where the trawlers operate, and how they are getting away with their illegal activities. During the course of our investigations EJF documented illegal fishing vessels approaching as close as 500 metres from the shore, far inside the 5 mile Inshore Exclusion Zone that is reserved for local artisanal fishermen. Careful observation and the vital input from local communities meant that we were able to pinpoint key areas being targeted by the pirate trawlers. Sierra Leone’s government, like many in the West African region, have few resources to monitor and patrol their coastal waters, a fact well known and exploited by the illegal fishing operators. EJF was able to provide the information and evidence of the illegal fishing activities, and collaborated with the Sierra Leone authorities to run a patrol to one of the most affected areas. Local fishermen were able to provide confirmation to EJF investigators of the presence of pirate vessels, leading to the successful boarding and arrest of the APSARI-3 for illegal fishing in Sierra Leone waters. The captain of the vessel never expected a patrol to be run to the area, over-confident that Sierra Leone was unable to do so. | ||||
Once on board it became clear just why these pirate trawlers are having such an impact on local fish stocks and fishing communities. The trawl net, when hauled aboard, contained dozens of marine species. Below the ship’s decks a factory style operation meant only those fish considered to have value were kept – all the rest, over half, were simply dumped over the side, dead.
The APSARI-3 was escorted to the capital city, Freetown, and fined for illegally fishing. Yet for every successful arrest there are likely to be dozens more pirate trawlers fishing off the coast of West Africa, robbing some of the poorest countries in the world of food and income. Sierra Leone is in desperate need of international support, and EJF will continue to work with its partners in Sierra Leone on national and international efforts to end pirate fishing once and for all. | ||||
To read the Sierra Leone Authorities’ letter CLICK HERE To learn more about EJF and pirate fishing in Sierra Leone CLICK HERE To make a donation to support EJF's work CLICK HERE |
