Souba Camara, a government port official in Conakry, told that the livelihoods of local fishermen are increasingly threatened by the many industrial trawlers from Europe, China, Korea and Russia, which often operate illegally in Guinea’s once-abundant waters. He opined that the exclusive zones that are reserved for local fishing should be recognised by the industrial boats and they should stay away from them because their presence creates a lot of economic and social problems.
He informed that fishing by industrial boats is illegal in areas near the shore designated for local fisherman but the laws are largely ignored. According to Camara enforcing laws would not benefit fishermen as most of them depend on the earnings from his net. The large industrial boats are all owned by non-Guineans. And in this process the government is also losing lots of revenue.
Fisherman Mamadou Camara said the local fishermen are feeling the loss most. He added that the areas of big boats should be fixed so that the local fishermen could earn some for their livelihoods. Guinea’s government has taken steps to ban the export of some species of fish to increase their availability in local markets. However, fishermen feel that this just opened the door for more illegal international trade and diminished their earnings further.
Camara expressed that the government does not have the means to monitor its waters. The chairman of the Guinea association of local fishermen, Issiaga Daffe, has called for renewed monitoring efforts by the government and donors and micro-financing of fishermen. Due to this illegal international fishing the lives of local fishermen are also at risk.
