'Unsustainable coastal fisheries in Sierra Leone: Are there any practical solutions?'

Coastal fish stocks in Sierra Leone (SL) are becoming more and more depleted, and the socio-economic consequences for coastal communities are severe. The immediate causes of this dire situation are two-fold: industrial... [ view full abstract ]

Coastal fish stocks in Sierra Leone (SL) are becoming more and more depleted, and the socio-economic consequences for coastal communities are severe. The immediate causes of this dire situation are two-fold: industrial trawlers hovering up large quantities of fish offshore and sometimes inshore; and artisanal fishers are using monofilament and small mesh nets which catch immature fish and fish eggs. Strategies developed by SL government and international organizations that fund consultancies have been ineffective. The failure of consultancies to solve the problem led to this study which investigate why industrial and artisanal fishers are so resistant to change. In the study, 51 key informant interviews were conducted and 200 open-ended questionnaires were administered in Tumbo and Goderich communities. 

 The findings of this research are (a) that legal industrial fishers are immune from control because they pay large sums to the SL government for licences; while illegal industrial fishers are immune from control because the SL has insufficient resources to monitor them; and (b) artisanal fishers are resistant to control because they have no alternative to using harmful fishing gear; and they have a religious belief in the unending supply of fish in their waters.    

 This study concludes that SL’s coastal fisheries will not recover unless there is political will on the part of the government to end industrial fishing; to educate artisanal fishers about the consequences of their inappropriate fishing methods; and to provide alternative livelihoods for fishers to reduce pressure on fish stocks, alleviate poverty, and eliminate food insecurity.