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Africa fights back against accusations of fraudulent fishing licences
Liberia responds to the Korean company Dongwon Industries – a company that has been embroiled in IUU fishing in west Africa – and have released several statements to the international and Korean media claiming they are a ‘victim’ of a corrupt Liberian government. They have also denied that their vessels have fished illegally in Liberia. The Liberian government has responded to this in a recent press release and in doing so have shown that they do not intend to be falsely accused in order to remove blame from those committing the fisheries crimes and also that they are taking the management of their fishery resources seriously.
The press release that states that:
“the Government of Liberia refutes recent allegations made by the Korean company Dongwon Industries in the international media that they are a “victim of fraud‚ by officials in the Bureau of National Fisheries. The company’s fishing vessels PREMIER and SOLEVANT were both identified as fishing illegally in Liberian fisheries waters, and the PREMIER found to carrying a forged license.
Besides, the fishing licensing processes in Liberia are clear and publicly available from the BNF/MoA and on www.liberiafisheries.net. Dongwon cannot demonstrate any legal agreement they had with a local agent to represent them (a requirement for licensing), payment into Government accounts for the license fee (a requirement), nor can they provide any communication or document giving the vessel legal right to fish that has not been identified as a forgery by Liberia officials.
Further, the Government of Liberia is disappointed to learn of these allegations by Dongwon Industries when representatives of the company are currently in Liberia negotiating a settlement agreement for the fines due for the violations of the Liberia Fisheries Regulations by the vessels in question, which the BNF/MoA has entered into in good faith.‚
Original press release available on the Liberian Government Fisheries website: (http://liberiafisheries.com/sites/default/files/pdf/PRESS%20RELEASE_Liberia%20rejects%20acc_fraud_Dongwon.pdf)