Artisanal fishermen in Sierra Leone have appealed to the government to shield them from industrial trawlers they say are destroying their boats, nets and livelihoods along the country’s coast.
At a meeting on Friday at Goderich Wharf, near Freetown, community leaders and fishers from Goderich, Aberdeen, Portee and Rokupa said incursions by large industrial vessels had caused mounting losses and deadly accidents at sea.
“Since May, fishermen have lost boats and nets. This is our survival,” said Foday Conteh, harbour master at Goderich Wharf, urging authorities to act.
Abu Bakarr Sesay, representing Portee and Rokupa wharves, recounted an incident in which a trawler struck a fishing boat carrying four men. “Only three were rescued. One did not survive,” he said.
Participants accused some officials of failing to enforce laws that restrict industrial vessels to the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and bar them from entering the Inshore Exclusion Zone (IEZ), which is reserved for small-scale fishers.
“There is an Act that fines industrial boats $100,000 if they destroy property in the IEZ, but no company has been fined,” said Ibrahim Borbor Kabbah, a member of parliament, alleging collusion between the fisheries ministry and foreign operators.
Haja Mansaray, head of the Women in Fisheries group in Goderich, said damage from trawlers had left some fishers’ homes in ruins and threatened incomes in coastal villages.
Responding on behalf of the Ministry of Fisheries and Marine Resources, outstation officer Moseray Kabbah said the ministry investigates complaints and has taken steps to protect artisanal fishers, but urged them to report incidents promptly rather than negotiate directly with trawler companies.
Gbessay Bianie, the master fisherman at Goderich, pledged to raise grievances with authorities and work to stop trawlers from violating artisanal fishing grounds.
Small-scale fishing supports thousands of Sierra Leoneans with jobs and food, but coastal communities say poorly regulated industrial fleets are depleting stocks and damaging their gear.
By Brima Bangura
