The 120 meter long Russian super trawler “Mikhail Verbitsky” fishing in West Africa waters. Foreign fleets are plundering the West African waters while fish stocks are diminishing. Bycatch like dolphins end up dead or dying in the giant nets of the super trawler. Greenpeace is campaigning in West Africa for the establishment of a sustainable, low impact fisheries policy that takes into account the needs and interests of small-scale fishermen and the local communities that depend on healthy oceans. Captions and Photo source: © Greenpeace / Pierre Gleizes
Excerpts;
“Last week, the Senegalese government cancelled all fishing permits for foreign“pelagic trawlers,” large fishing vessels that drag nets below the surface of the ocean.
This should remind leaders that with political will and courage, they can change things and shape the future of their people for the better.
Our work to make this decision permanent in Senegal continues, as does our work to make sure that the European CFP (Common Fisheries Policy) reform process works for all Europeans, not just powerful fishing interests…”
Mega Trawlers Emptying African Seas, Greenpeace
West African waters have been subject to overfishing for decades, the effects of which are being felt by protesting local communities. Greenpeace protests against EU subsidised plunder of West African Waters, with level of fishing that is completely unsustainable. Trawlers have a disastrous impact with their ability to make massive catches in an area with already declining fish stocks, destroying both African fisheries and the local fishing industry.
