China’s Role in Ghana’s Unfolding Fishing Catastrophe

While the Ghanaian government took decisive action earlier this year to crack down on illegal mining known as Galamsey where Chinese illegal mining interests have been active for years, Accra has done absolutely nothing to combat persistent illegal fishing in its waters.

Foreign fishing companies, predominantly from China, operate with impunity in full view of the government who together are contributing to an ecological and humanitarian catastrophe, according to the findings from a recent report by the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF). In fact, EJF asserts that years of over-fishing by industrial fleets have decimated local fish stocks to the point where the small-scale fishing boats too often return empty.