By Laudia Anyorkor Nunoo, GNA
Accra, May 11, GNA – Professor Edem Mahu of the Department of Marine and Fisheries Sciences at the University of Ghana, has warned that illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing continues to threaten food security, marine biodiversity, maritime governance, and scientific research across Africa and the Gulf of Guinea.
Prof Mahu said IUU fishing had evolved into a major economic, ecological, and governance crisis that was weakening fisheries management systems and undermining sustainable ocean governance.
She made the remarks during a presentation at the Maritime Action Platform Seminar in Accra on the topic “When Vessels Go Dark: How IUU Fishing Weakens Science, Maritime Security and Governance”.
She explained that illegal fishing involved activities that violated national or international regulations, while unreported fishing referred to activities that were either falsely declared or not reported to authorities.
Prof Mahu, who is a marine scientist, added that unregulated fishing involved vessels operating in areas without proper conservation or regulatory measures.
According to her, IUU fishing globally accounted for an estimated 11 to 26 million tonnes of catch annually, resulting in economic losses valued between 10 and 23.5 billion US dollars each year.
“In Africa, losses reach seven to 11 billion dollars annually, threatening food security for over 200 million people dependent on fish,” she stated.
She noted that many vessels engaged in illegal fishing intentionally disabled Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) and Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) to avoid detection at sea, explaining that the practice created major data gaps in fisheries monitoring systems and weakened stock assessments, biodiversity mapping, habitat monitoring, and climate research.
The marine scientist said studies had identified more than 55,000 suspected intentional vessel signal disabling incidents between 2017 and 2019, leading to approximately 4.9 million hours of obscured vessel activity globally.
She warned that hidden fishing activities resulted in underestimation of fishing pressure and created false assumptions about ecosystem recovery and marine conservation success.
The marine scientist further stated that IUU fishing weakened maritime security by reducing visibility at sea, enabling transnational crimes, eroding state authority, and increasing instability within maritime zones.
She called for stronger regional cooperation, improved fisheries governance, transparent data systems, and integrated ocean intelligence systems to combat illegal fishing in Africa.
According to her, West Africa needed locally owned systems linking fisheries institutions, navies, ports authorities, scientists, and policymakers to improve monitoring and enforcement operations.
Prof Mahu also advocated the use of satellite systems, radar technologies, AIS, Vessel Monitoring Systems, and regional information-sharing platforms to improve surveillance and enforcement against illegal fishing activities.
“Combating IUU fishing in Africa requires coordinated enforcement, strong governance, transparent data systems, regional cooperation, and community engagement,” she added.
GNA
Edited by Lydia Kukua Asamoah
Reporter: Laudia Anyorkor Nunoo, GNA