Sierra Leone’s China Relations Block Targeted Action Against Illegal Fishing

For nearly four decades, illegal foreign-owned fleets have devastated Sierra Leone’s once sustainable fisheries industry.

Sierra Leone’s 400 km Atlantic coastline once contained abundant marine resources crucial to the nation’s economy. Fishing contributes 12% of the country’s gross domestic product and is the primary source of protein for 80% of the population. The industry employs around 500 000 people out of a population of eight million.

But these jobs and economic benefits are in jeopardy….