15 African Nations Ink Deal to Stop Illegal Fishing — But Who’s Really Cashing In?

MOMBASA, Kenya — Fifteen African countries have signed the Mombasa Declaration, a deal aimed at stopping illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing that is gutting coastal economies and trapping over 120,000 fishers in modern slavery [175536]. The agreement targets foreign trawlers that slip into national waters at night, steal fish, and vanish by dawn — a recurring problem off Malaysia’s eastern coast, where local fishermen report poachers working near Pulau Redang and Pulau Bidong before disappearing before sunrise [176656]. These security gaps threaten Malaysia’s ambition to grow its blue economy, as illegal fishing undermines local livelihoods and marine resources [176656].

The Mombasa Declaration seeks to increase transparency in the fishing industry and hold operators accountable [175536]. Experts estimate that one in every five fish eaten worldwide comes from illegal sources, and the problem is especially severe in West Africa, where industrial overfishing by large foreign ships has emptied waters that local fishermen once relied on [175536][176016]. In Senegal, fishermen now must sail far from shore to find sardines and cuttlefish that were once abundant just a kilometer out [176016].

Scientists have proposed a simple tool to combat the problem: requiring all fishing vessels to carry a bright, always-on light that makes them easy to spot from satellites [176016]. If a ship turns off its light, it becomes a clear sign of illegal activity. "If the big ships cannot hide," one Senegalese fisherman said, "our children might again fish close to shore" [176016].

Meanwhile, in Norway, eight people have been charged following a police raid on a fish reception facility in Troms, with the facility facing a fine of 15 million Norwegian kroner and three shipping companies receiving confiscation orders worth millions [173099]. The trial is set for four months beginning in September [173099].