Leocadia Bongben
Cameroon published the list of vessels authorized to ply its waters for the second consecutive time, a step towards fishing transparency. However, the Environmental Justice Foundation has published a report that indicates vessels continue to fish without licenses, in marine protected areas, and within areas reserved for artisanal fishing.
IUU fishing is witnessed with vessels fishing without licenses, and industrial trawlers use modified nets with a smaller, illegal mesh size to maximize their catch. This results in a widespread catch of undersized and young fish, either sold illegally or discarded dead. Sharks, rays, turtles, and cetaceans are also frequently caught as bycatch.
Testimonies from artisanal fishermen and crew working on board trawlers and EJF observation indicate that trawlers fish illegally within less than three nautical miles of the shore. Satellite data confirms that trawling within the Inshore Exclusion Zone occurs almost everywhere along the coastline and within marine protected areas (MPAs)
In January 2023, the EU sanctioned Cameroon with a “red card” for its lack of cooperation in responsible marine resource management, specifically illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing. Presently, seafood from Cameroon is not admitted into the European Union.
The report, ‘INSIDE CAMEROON’S WATERS: IUU Fishing and Labor Rights Abuses in Cameroon’s Industrial Fishing Sector,’ published on November 1, identifies several reasons Cameroon waters remain soaked in illegality.
“There is no publicly available fishing vessel registry in Cameroon. Although the FAO’s Global Record of Fishing Vessels website lists Cameroon as a data contributor, no Cameroon-flagged vessel is entered into the database. Only 6% of the vessels licensed to fish in Cameroonian waters can be matched with an IMO unique identifying number permanently attached to a fishing vessel to ease identification throughout its life cycle.,” the report states.
Why IUU fishing continues to bloom
IUU fishing continues to thrive because the Chinese possess and control most vessels permitted to fish in Cameroonian waters this year.
It is also evident that the conditions under which fishing licenses are issued and renewed remain opaque. According to Cameroonian law, fishing licenses are automatically renewed after expiry if the authorities fail to respond to an application for renewal. The license list for the year 2024 was only made public in July, seven months after the renewal deadline, and it is unclear whether vessels are legally required to transmit VMS or AIS signals while fishing, the report states.
Although the vessel must abide by “applicable regulations” when obtaining individual fishing licenses, such as the duty “not to switch off satellite monitoring systems (VMS, AIS),” the source of that requirement in applicable regulations could not be found. According to the research, scientifically sound stock assessments and comprehensive landing statistics broken down by species are among the fisheries data that are obscured and crucial to the long-term management of Cameroon’s fisheries.
The briefing indicates Cameroon has not completed the process of becoming a party to several key international legal instruments related to fisheries governance. This includes the UN Fish Stocks Agreement (UNFS), the FAO Compliance Agreement, and the FAO Port State Measures Agreement (PSMA). Cameroon has not signed the Cape Town Agreement for the Safety of Fishing Vessels (Cape Town Agreement) and the ILO Work in Fishing Convention (ILO C188) to improve the safety and working conditions of fishers and ensure that fishing vessels adhere to rigorous safety standards.
Data from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) indicates that fish production stands at 299,000 metric tons in 2022. Cameroon waters are more appealing for fishing because of other commercially useful species like shrimp and demersal (bottom-dwelling) fish, even though small pelagics account for around 45% of the marine catch. Over 212,000 fishermen are estimated to rely directly on fishing for their livelihoods, a source of protein for many Cameroonians, with an average consumption of 19.3 kg per person in 2021.
However, artisanal fishermen have seen their catches decline over the years, attributed to overfishing and unselective nets used by trawlers. Researchers from the Agricultural Research Institute for the Development of Cameroon (IRAD) have reported a rapid decline in fish populations. Bilaga, a fisherman at Mboa Manga in Kribi, told Cameroon Factfinder, “These trawlers are like criminals. We wouldn’t suffer if the state could keep the trawlers under control. The government has granted them unrestricted access at sea, and this causes the fish population to reduce.”
According to the report, catching juveniles threatens fish populations and risks undermining the future of Cameroon’s fisheries, raising concerns for the population’s food security in a country that remains reliant on imports to satisfy domestic demand for fish. Industrial fishing vessels, particularly trawlers, destroy marine species such as sharks and rays, cetaceans, and sirenians, caught as bycatch.
There has reportedly been no solution to the decades-long illegal invasions by the industrial fishing fleet that have impacted catch and frequently destroyed nets.
Recommendation
As a measure of transparency, Cameroon should comply with international instruments in the IUU, such as the UNFSA, FAO Compliance Agreement, and the PSMA, sign, ratify, and implement the Cape Town Agreement to ensure industrial fishing vessels are built, maintained, and equipped to ensure safe working conditions for crew, the report suggests.
The report suggests that as Cameroon is in the process of adopting a new legal framework for fisheries management and revising its national plan of action against IUU fishing (NPOA-IUU), this is a unique opportunity to become a regional champion in ocean governance and the fight against IUU fishing.