Illegal Chinese trawlers, climate change and artisanal fishing blamed for declining fish stocks in West Africa

Along the Gulf of Guinea, which stretches from the Ivory Coast to Nigeria, fishermen launch their wooden canoes from the beach to catch small pelagic fish such as sardines and anchovies, which they sell in informal local markets to earn a living. They have been doing this for generations, but since the 1990s, declining catches have threatened their livelihoods. In Ghana, the total catch of small pelagic fish fell by 59% between 1993 and 2019, despite increased fishing effort. Catches of Sardinella aurita, a favored species, fell from 119,000 tonnes in 1992 to just 11,834 tonnes in 2019. Côte d'Ivoire has seen a parallel decline in catches, with catches falling by almost 40% between 2003 and 2020. Continued declines in fisheries yields are having serious consequences for some of the region's poorest families. In Ghana, for example, there are more than 200,000 active fishermen. More than two million others in the value chain, including thousands of women who process and sell fish in ...