The Gambia has declared ‘war’ on illegal fishing as it seeks support from private companies to tackle the menace in its waters.
Government officials have held talks with U.S., South African and Dutch companies to aid in fighting the illegal practice which is destroying water bodies, according to SAMBC News.
The West African nation loses over $2.3 billion a year due to the practice which is usually carried out fishing vessels with many of them coming from China.
Gambia’s Fisheries and Water Resources Permanent Secretary, Bamba Banja is quoted as saying that “The South African and Dutch companies will provide patrol boats while the American company is for aerial surveillance to complement the patrol boats.”
“Fighting illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing requires continuous monitoring and surveillance of our waters, and we don’t have the resources to do that.” Banja added.
Fishing is a major occupation in many West African nations but the fishes are being threatened by bad fishing methods.
Other countries like Ghana have also rolled out new measures to check illegal trawlers.
Source: Africafeeds.com
