Banning transshipment at sea to avoid transfer of fish and supplies from one vessel to another in the country’s waters is necessary to reduce illegal fishing and thereby diversify the Sierra Leone economy.

This is according to the National Coordinator of Budget Advocacy Network (BAN), Abu Bakarr Kamara, in their concluding analysis in moving away from the over dependence on iron ore for boosting the country’s economy.
Kamara was talking about the economic situation in the country and urged that by diversifying the economy the government will be able to generate revenues from other sources especially the fishing industry. “Monitoring equipment for enforcement should be available.”
“Strengthening this industry through technical and financial support will help reduce our borrowing gap and the fisheries sector is important to be focused on. With so many issues ranging from unlicensed boats and with those that are licensed and the specification of fish they should fish.”

Transshipment, he said, is currently affecting the country’s revenue as some of those licensed companies have boats outside the Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZ) that do not come here, and the ones that come here transport it to them without the authorities knowing the value of fish caught and wouldn’t be able to determine the correct tax.
“This practice often occurs on the high seas and beyond the reach of any nation’s jurisdiction, allowing ships fishing illegally to evade most monitoring and enforcement measures, offload their cargo, and resume fishing without returning to port,” explains Kamara.
He added with the proposal from the IMF to reverse fuel and rice subsidy based on the extended credit facility that the APC government had signed, he said it has conditions and we have met most of those with the issue of the subsidy remaining.
He urged the government not to, at this time, remove it even though it is a way for government to generate revenue. “Again, the burden lies with the citizens, but if it is removed they will be able to cushion the burden on other things like paying salaries,” he said.
In June 2017, an agreement was read for ratification in Parliament on port state measures to prevent, deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing by the Minister of State in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Mohamed Gibril Sesay.

During the debate, Hon. Dauda J.B. Kallon, (APC) formerly representing Constituency 93 in Western Area Rural, recalled that the Ministry of Fisheries usually comes to Parliament to inform them that the country is losing over $30 to $50 million USD to illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activities.
He stressed that there should be a data on the vessels and with details on their specific activities they are registered for. “They are making use of our waters, but the proceeds are taken out of this country. They have what is known as transhipment and during transhipment, a good number of what we referred to as bycatch fish products they did not registered for and which are of high commercial value are being transhipped.”

He went further to say that those fish that they did not register for are usually repackaged, rebranded and then they are being sold into countries where the nation does not have access to sell our fish.
“The findings from just four days of surveillance in Sierra Leone are further evidence that West Africa needs to strengthen its fisheries management. The region’s marine resources are being depleted at alarming rates, mainly due to too many boats competing for too few fish, and high rates of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. This ongoing plunder is a threat to millions of people in the region who depend on the oceans for their food,” said Ahmed Diame, Greenpeace Africa Oceans campaigner.
Greenpeace Africa, in 2017, discovered from their inspection into Sierra Leone waters, that Chinese captains have a very limited understanding of our local fisheries legislation.

And given that almost half of the foreign fishing vessels in Sierra Leone are Chinese, they see it as a major concern, which they also said needs much stricter supervision. Chinese fishing companies, they added, need to supply training on local legislation to all overseas staff.
Currently 140 vessels are licenced to operate in Sierra Leonean waters, including tuna purse seiners, demersal and shrimp trawlers and shrimps and mid-water trawlers targeting pelagic fish like sardinella and mackerel. Nearly half of all vessels in the country’s waters are owned by Chinese companies, and 40% by European Union companies.

Source: Awoko