Environmental and Social impact on food system

 

News summary on the China’s Distant-Water Fishing and Its Impact in West Africa. a case study of sierra Leone

 

West Africa is one of the world’s most important fishing zones where fishing account for 20% of primary production and are an important source of nutrition for coastal populations in the region  

The fisheries sector in sierra Leone provides foreign exchange, tax revenues and fish is the cheapest source of animal protein and nutrition, which is very key to addressing the country’s food security and malnutrition.

The fisheries sector had provided over five hundred thousand jobs for Sierra Leoneans who depended on fisheries resources either directly or indirectly as a source of livelihood

But over the decades, over-exploitation  through the illegal, Unregulated, and Unreported  fishing practice  has drastically reduced the marine fish production, and is again increasing due to ocean warming caused by climate change.

 Studies have proved that the average catch per unit of effort by vessels is declining, and the industrial vessels have become 11 times more efficient than artisanal vessels

 The waters of West Africa currently produce an estimated annual average catch of 10.5 million tons, with China and the EU accounting for 20% and 15% respectively.

What is important about this news is the issues of IUU fishing  by foreign vessels

Trawlers are allowed to fish 30m deep water ( ie the EEZ) , but  they come to shallow waters where traditional or artisanal fishing activity occurs. Thereby producing hedge environmental and social impact

Socio-economic impact  

·      The IUU fishing has devastating effect on traditional fishing, depriving their livelihoods, affect buyers and sellers in local markets and to a large extent impact the fish protein intake by the people.

The loss of livelihoods in the traditional fisheries sector had exacerbated poverty in coastal communities whose major income are from fishing activities

Environmental impacts if the IUU fishing

 The IUU fishing threatens the marine biodiversity,

·      depletes the oceanic ecosystems

·      destroying the fish breeding sites,  

·      and Destroying the coral reef

what has the Government of Sierra Leone done to  reduce IUU fishing

·      As a growing, the Government believes that coordination and enforcement mechanisms across the sub-region and within international organizations, in which Sierra Leone is a member, can help to wrest back full control of the fisheries and marine resources

 

·      Government of sL has also invested in hard assets to strengthen the monitoring, control, and surveillance of the fisheries sector

China approach to reduce IUU fishing in west Africa including SL

In recent years, China’s distant-water fishing (DWF) has expanded rapidly, particularly off the coast of West Africa, attracting the attention of NGOs and the international community. In April 2020, the Chinese government began to implement significantly stricter Regulations on the Management of Distant Water Fisheries. The new law features strengthened monitoring measures and harsher penalties for violation. Important questions nonetheless remain as to what is driving this move, whether the new rules can effectively put a brake on China’s illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the region, and what the Chinese and African governments can do to improve the sustainability of these fisheries.

The IUU fishing is a threat to food security in West African.