On board Ghana’s trawlers, claims of human rights abuses and illegal fishing

Date: August 25, 2021

Source: Mongabay

  • A report and video published by the Environmental Justice Foundation describes a range of human rights abuses experienced by fisheries crew members and official observers on board industrial vessels operating in Ghana’s waters.
  • According to the report, most of these vessels are involved in illegal fishing practices, including the use of undersized nets, the catching and dumping of juvenile fish, and the transshipment of large quantities of pelagic fish that should be reserved for artisanal fishers, which is helping to push Ghana’s fishery to the point of collapse.
  • Human rights abuses are prevalent on industrial fishing vessels across the world, and tend to be entwined with issues of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
  • While many experts validate the allegations of human rights abuse in the report, some in positions of power suggest the issues aren’t as straightforward as they might appear.
Posted on Categories Uncategorized