Stimson Center finds Chinese, West African collaboration needed to combat IUU fishing in Gulf of Guinea

The Gulf of Guinea off the coast of West Africa experiences some of the highest rates of illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing in the world, but closer collaboration between Beijing-based officials and West African nations could help limit the IUU actions of Chinese vessels in the region, a new report details.

Published by the Stimson Center, a Washington, D.C., U.S.A.-based nonprofit that analyzes issues related to world peace, “Charting a Blue Future for Cooperation between West Africa and China on Sustainable Fisheries” emphasizes the need for “unique engagement” between Chinese and West African civil society groups and governments to “better understand where their perspectives converge and differ.”

To more effectively facilitate such an exchange, the Stimson Center aims to engage civil society groups directly to develop ideas and solutions, which they can then share with their home country’s governments.

“The topic of illegal fishing is not one readily discussed openly between Chinese civil society and their foreign partners, despite shared interests in food security, blue economy development, and sustainable fisheries,” the report states.

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Photo courtesy of the Stimson Center