There is new evidence that large quantities of fish from west Africa are being \”stolen\” from communities heavily dependent on fishing, and loaded on to illegal vessels bound for South Korea.
Satellite technology suggests that a 470-ton fishing vessel is currently transporting illegally caught fish from Sierra Leone to Busan, South Korea\’s second-largest city, feeding high demand for seafood in Asia.
The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), which uncovered the case, said it was part of the biggest trade in illegally caught fish in the world.
It detected the Korean-flagged vessel fishing close to Sierra Leone\’s Sherbro Island, where communities are heavily reliant on fishing for their food and income.
News of the vessel – believed to be transporting more than 4,000 boxes of illegally caught fish – comes amid growing concern about falling fish stocks in wst Africa, as more traditional fishing communities are pushed into poverty.