Fisheries catch under-reporting in The Gambia, Liberia and Namibia and the three large marine ecosystems which they represent

Belhabib, Dyhia; Mendy, Asberr Natoumbi; Subah, Yevewuo; Broh, Nasi T.; Jueseah, Alvin Slewion; Nipey, Nicolas; Boeh, William W.; Willemse, N.; Zeller, Dirk; Pauly, Daniel

doi:10.1016/j.envdev.2015.08.004

Cited by 37 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…of oysters (with shells), yielding 2.5 kilograms (5.5 lbs.) of edible meat after steaming (Belhabib et al 2016).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shellfish Collection in Senegambian Mangroves: A Female Knowledge System in a Priority Conservation Region

Carney¹

2017

Journal of Ethnobiology

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Shellfish collected in the West African mangrove ecosystem of Senegambia provide a crucial source of dietary protein, but the species harvested for household consumption have received little attention in conservation and socioeconomic research. This study examines the edible mollusks, gastropods, and crustaceans that figure prominently in a mangrove ecosystem that has emerged as a global conservation priority. Based on interviews and field observations, the species that are consumed are identified, as well as the locations within the ecosystem where they are harvested. Attention is also drawn to the gendered practices that inform collection and preservation. Edible shellfish hold considerable potential for monitoring mangrove ecosystem health, which is increasingly affected by deforestation and rising and acidifying seas. This paper highlights the importance of collaborating with local peoples who have cultural and economic ties to mangrove forests and ethnobiological knowledge about the management of these resources, which are essential for the development of effective conservation strategies.

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“…of oysters (with shells), yielding 2.5 kilograms (5.5 lbs.) of edible meat after steaming (Belhabib et al 2016).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shellfish Collection in Senegambian Mangroves: A Female Knowledge System in a Priority Conservation Region

Carney¹

2017

Journal of Ethnobiology

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“…Illegal catches are based on a reconstruction method whose uncertainty is discussed in previous analyses (Belhabib et al, 2016). Over the $2.3 billion US lost to IUU, only $13.8 million were recovered through MCS, in 2016.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The baseline illegal catch for Mauritania and The Gambia was extracted from Belhabib et al (2012b) and Belhabib et al (2016), respectively. These were then multiplied by the regional trend…”

Section: Mauritania and The Gambiamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This region has seen its fish stocks decline, driven by over-exploitation, overcapacity, and illegal fishing (Daniels et al, 2016). Previous work assessed illegal fishing in the region (Belhabib et al, 2012c(Belhabib et al, , 2016Belhabib and Pauly, 2015) to nearly 40 per cent of all the fish caught-the highest level worldwide (Agnew et al, 2009). Not only the economy of vulnerable countries is threatened, illegal fishing is estimated to reduce the number of jobs in artisanal sectors by 300,000 (Daniels et al, 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Assessing the Effectiveness of Monitoring Control and Surveillance of Illegal Fishing: The Case of West Africa

Doumbouya¹,

Camara²,

Mamie³

et al. 2017

Front. Mar. Sci.

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104

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This paper assesses illegal fishing in West Africa, one of the regions most affected by Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated fishing (IUU) in the world. The catch, the economic loss and the amount recovered through Monitoring, Control, and Surveillance (MCS) are calculated based on a reconstruction method, and the information made available through national MCS units, between 2010 and 2016 in an effort to assess the effectiveness of surveillance efforts in the region. Results show considerable loss of revenues for Mauritania, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, and Sierra Leone, estimated at 2.3 billion USD annually, while a minimal amount of 13 million USD is recovered through MCS. In addition, this paper finds that countries touched by the Ebola crisis (Guinea and Sierra Leone) drive a tremendous increase in the loss generated by illegal fishing. However, further analysis shows that the overall severity of illegal fishing, as defined by a range of types investigated here, declines as the fines against the most severe forms of IUU fishing increase. Finally this study finds that Sierra Leone and The Gambia have the highest scoring MCS systems, and were the countries where the most offenders are caught and charged with the highest fines, while Senegal's new legislations which improved MCS during 2015 does not appear to show on the scoring results. This study finds that illegal fishing amounts the equivalent of 65% of the legal reported catch from West Africa and poses serious concern for food security, and the economy in the region.

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“…This wealth is determined by an extensive shallow continental shelf; environmental variability, and estuarine coastline with numerous islands and rivers, and mangroves lining the coast (Belhabib and Pauly, 2015). This resource wealth is partly driven by coastal upwellings, river nutrient discharges, and the influence of the Canary Current large Marine Ecosystem (Arístegui et al, 2009;Belhabib et al, 2016b;CCLME Project, 2016).…”

Section: Assessing Guinea Bissau's Legal and Illegal Unreported And Umentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing Guinea Bissau's Legal and Illegal Unreported and Unregulated Fisheries and the Surveillance Efforts to Tackle Them

2018

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Fisheries in Guinea Bissau contribute greatly to the economy and food security of its people. Yet, as the ability of the country to monitor its fisheries is at most weak, and confronted with a heavy foreign fleet presence, the impact of industrial foreign fleets on fisheries catches is unaccounted for in the region. However, their footprint in terms of catch and value on the small-scale sector is heavily felt, through declining availability of fish. Fisheries in Guinea Bissau are operated by both legal (small-scale and industrial), and illegal (foreign unauthorized) fleets, whose catches are barely recorded. In this paper, we assess catches by both the legal and illegal sector, and the economic loss generated by illegal fisheries in the country, then attempt to evaluate the effectiveness of Monitoring Control and Surveillance (MCS) of Guinea Bissau's fisheries. Two main sectors were identified through official reports and a literature review, the large-scale (industrial) sector, which between 2011 and 2017 included exclusively catches by foreign owned and flagged vessels, and catches by the small-scale sector, which remain largely unmonitored in official statistics. We use the available data on the number of legal and illegal vessels and/or fishers, and their respective catch per unit of effort to estimate catches, and we analyze monitoring outcomes against the registered industrial and artisanal fleets. We find that of the legal industrial vessels, 20% were linked to criminal activities in the past 7 years. These activities range widely from using an illegal mesh size, to fishing in a prohibited area, to labor abuse. Overall, total small-scale and industrial catches were estimated at 370,000 t/year in 2017, of which less than 2% is ever reported to the FAO. Small-scale catches represented 8% of the total catch, and this contribution was found to be declining. Industrial fisheries generate over $458 million US, or which $75 million US is taken illegally, falling under the category trans-national fisheries crimes. The slight negative relationship between the number of monitoring days at sea illegal catches suggests increasing MCS efforts may play an important role in reducing illegal fishing in the country.

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Fisheries catch under-reporting in The Gambia, Liberia and Namibia and the three large marine ecosystems which they represent

Cited by 37 publications

References 22 publications

Shellfish Collection in Senegambian Mangroves: A Female Knowledge System in a Priority Conservation Region

Shellfish Collection in Senegambian Mangroves: A Female Knowledge System in a Priority Conservation Region

Assessing the Effectiveness of Monitoring Control and Surveillance of Illegal Fishing: The Case of West Africa

Assessing Guinea Bissau's Legal and Illegal Unreported and Unregulated Fisheries and the Surveillance Efforts to Tackle Them

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