Esperanza west africa expedition 2014

Esperanza West Africa Expedition 2014

Esperanza West Africa Expedition 2014 Summary of findings from 26 October – 21 November 2014 in the Exclusive Economic Zones of Senegal, Guinea-Bissau and Guinea

May 2015 Page 0 of 28

Esperanza West Africa Expedition 2014

Abbreviations AIS

Automatic Identification System

DWF

Distant Water Fishing

EEZ

Exclusive Economic Zone

EU

European Union

FAO

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

MCS

Monitoring, Control and Surveillance

MMSI

Maritime Mobile Service Identity

IUU

Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated

RHIB

Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat

Front cover image: The Greenpeace ship Esperanza was in West African waters. Š Jiri Rezac / Greenpeace

Back cover image Artisanal Fishing Pirogues in West African waters. Š Jiri Rezac / Greenpeace Page 1 of 28

Esperanza West Africa Expedition 2014

Summary The depletion of Africa’s marine resources is part of a global fisheries crisis. West African waters are among the most productive waters in the world and if properly managed, African fisheries could provide food and livelihoods for millions of people. Yet, the lack of efficient fisheries management systems and the weak governance by West African governments have allowed Distant Water Fishing (DWF) companies to plunder marine resources at a low cost and with quasi impunity.

For nearly 20 years, Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing has been recognized by the international community as a major factor in the depletion of marine resources. Greenpeace has been documenting IUU fishing activities in West Africa since 2001. Despite several instruments adopted to combat that scourge, IUU fishing is, unfortunately, still rampant.

From 26 October to 21 November 2014, the Greenpeace ship MY Esperanza sailed through the EEZs of Senegal, Guinea-Bissau and Guinea to highlight ongoing overfishing and document illegal and destructive fishing operations in West Africa. The Esperanza operated with the support of a helicopter, recorded potential IUU fishing operations, including through radar detection. The Esperanza collected evidence of fishing operations which were in contravention of the relevant coastal States’ legislations in force at the time of observation, such as fishing in areas where industrial fishing is prohibited. Many types of common infractions, such as unauthorized mesh size or gear, wrong target species or excessive levels of by-catch could not be documented as this can only be achieved through an inspection on board fishing vessels.

During 26 days of documentation at sea, 134 different vessels were sighted in the EEZs of Guinea-Bissau, Guinea and Southern Senegal. The position of the vessels in the EEZs, their flags and types are shown in Table 2.1 in Chapter 2. During the time spent at sea, Greenpeace Africa and Greenpeace East Asia observed in total 53 potential illegal fishing activities, carried out by 32 vessels flagged to China, Korea, Comoros, Morocco and Senegal flagged vessels in the EEZs of Guinea-Bissau and Guinea. Potential infractions observed included: 

fishing in areas where industrial fishing is prohibited;



fishing without a license or license expired1;



transshipping at sea.

All cases observed are classified by flag States and types in table 2.2 in Chapter 2. In addition to these, according to our observations there are numerous cases of wrong information transmitted by the AIS systems of these vessels, including misreporting of the vessel's name, MMSI number and/or position.

Greenpeace Africa and Greenpeace East Asia urge all flag States, States of beneficial ownership of the fishing vessels involved in the potential illegal fishing activities documented during this trip, as well as West African coastal States: - To immediately investigate these potential IUU fishing activities - To put effective measures in place, to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing in West African waters, and ensure the environmentally sustainable and socially equitable exploitation of marine resources. 2

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Esperanza West Africa Expedition 2014

Content Abbreviations...........................................................................................................................................................1 Summary..................................................................................................................................................................2 1.

Introduction .....................................................................................................................................................4 1.1.

Routes and methods ............................................................................................................................5

1.2.

Relevant Fisheries legislation in Senegal, Guinea-Bissau and Guinea..................................................6

2. Summary of findings ............................................................................................................................................8 3. Potential IUU Cases ...........................................................................................................................................13 3.1. Chinese-flagged vessels ..........................................................................................................................13 3.1.1. Vessels owned by Dalian Bo Yuan Overseas Fisheries Co. Ltd. ...................................................13 3.1.2. Vessels owned by Dalian Lian Run Overseas Fisheries Co. ltd. ...................................................15 3.2. Korean-flagged vessels ...........................................................................................................................18 3.3. Transshipment between the Flipper 3 and the Saly Reefer ...................................................................19 3.4. Senegalese-flagged vessels in Guinea-Bissau and Guinea .....................................................................21 3.5. Automatic Identification System (AIS) Misreporting ..............................................................................22 4. Conclusions and Recommendations..................................................................................................................23 Annex 1. Summary of observations.......................................................................................................................24 Annex 2. Marine charts, maps and legal texts referenced in this report: .............................................................27 References .............................................................................................................................................................28

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Esperanza West Africa Expedition 2014

1. Introduction West African waters in the central eastern Atlantic Ocean have traditionally been home to thriving fisheries within the rich Canary Current Large Marine Ecosystem, which extends from northwest Africa to GuineaBissau.3 The region is heavily dependent on fisheries in terms of people’s livelihood, employment as well as food security. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations estimates that fish has been an important commodity in local economies of many West African coastal countries for centuries.4 But decades of intense exploitation resulted in over 50% of fisheries resources in West African waters being overfished.5 Between 1950-2009, more than 250 species or groups of species were reported in fish landings taken by coastal States and 47 distant water fishing nations, and the total reported nominal catches increased almost twelve fold in that period, from about 300,000 tonnes in 1950 to 3,600,000 tonnes in 2009.6 Local coastal communities have suffered from the invasion by large numbers of industrial fishing vessels from Asia, Russia and the EU. In the absence of adequate regulatory frameworks and science-based management plans to ensure sustainable and equitable fishing activities, destructive and excess fishing capacity is out of control.

In addition to the challenge of overfishing and the lack of a conservation-oriented and precautionary management framework, African fisheries are plagued by illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing activities. Available research estimates that total catches in West Africa could be actually 40% higher than reported catches7. The total loss from IUU fishing in Sub-Saharan Africa EEZs has been estimated to be around 937 million USD8. Such estimates tend to be based on scarce, incomplete data or extrapolations, because much of IUU fishing still remains undetected. Its real extent and impacts are unknown and most probably largely underestimated.

Local artisanal fishermen have been complaining about shrinking catches and rising costs and workload. They are forced to travel further to catch fish and often have to compete for space with industrial trawlers in dangerous waters, increasing the risk of accidents at sea. Regardless, West African countries continue to sell fishing rights, often justified by economic interests. However, due to excessive fishing capacity in their waters, lack of sustainable management and efficient control, the consequences are IUU and overfishing.

Aiming to highlight the ongoing overfishing crisis due to illegal and destructive fishing in West Africa, the Greenpeace ship Esperanza documented fishing operations in the EEZs of Senegal, Guinea-Bissau and Guinea, from 26 October to 21 November 2014. As a result, 53 potential infractions, including vessels fishing without a valid fishing license, vessels fishing in a prohibited area and unauthorized at-sea transshipments were documented. Greenpeace also witnessed the destructive nature of these fisheries, particularly as a result of trawling in extremely shallow waters – even less than 10 m deep – and very high by-catch rates.

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Esperanza West Africa Expedition 2014

1.1.

Routes and methods

The Esperanza set sail from Funchal, Madeira on 19 October 2014. From 26 October to 20 November, the Esperanza sailed through the EEZs of Guinea-Bissau and Guinea. On 21 November, the Esperanza sailed across the South of the Senegalese EEZ, off Casamance, and documented the fishing activities there on its way back to Funchal, where it arrived on 27 November 2014.

The documentation was done using the helicopter and the Esperanza’s rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIBs), with the help of the radar to detect fishing operations in prohibited areas. It was obvious from our observations that the vessels were more likely to enter prohibited fishing areas at night. However, sometimes there was not enough time or appropriate weather to deploy a RHIB to document the vessel in time, so the ship’s radar was used to support the identification of that type of illegal fishing operations. After every helicopter flight, the sighted vessels and flight tracks were plotted on a GIS system so as to compile an overview of the documented fishing activities.

Map 1.1. Itinerary of the Esperanza during the documentation period

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Esperanza West Africa Expedition 2014 10

Map 1.2. Helicopter flights conducted during the documentation period

Relevant Fisheries legislation in Senegal, Guinea-Bissau and Guinea

1.2.

The legislation applicable at the time of observation of the activities described in this report differs in the three countries concerned. In particular: 

Industrial fishing11:

-

In Guinea-Bissau: prohibited inside the territorial sea (12 nautical miles from the base line)12

-

In Guinea: prohibited inside 12 NM from the base line and within the 20 meter isobath13

-

In Senegal: certain categories of industrial vessels are authorized to fish up to 6 miles from the coast14



Transshipment at sea:

-

In Guinea-Bissau allowed under certain conditions15

-

In Guinea prohibited as a general rule since at least 2004 until 201316. In July 2013, a Presidential Decree established a clear prohibition of transshipment at sea17 which was replaced, in January 2014, by another Decree18. The latter, referred to in the 2014 management plan19, prohibits transshipment at sea but implies that it can be authorized under certain conditions.

-

In Senegal, prohibited except in case of force majeure20



Licenses Page 6 of 28

Esperanza West Africa Expedition 2014

-

In all three countries, all vessels engaged in fishing operations are required to have a valid fishing license.

This is further complicated by the fact that some Governments seem to consider that bilateral governmental access agreements, take precedence over national legislation, sometimes establishing weaker provisions as in the case of those concerning by-catch allowances, transhipment conditions and vessel position monitoring, among others.

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Esperanza West Africa Expedition 2014

2. Summary of findings During 26 days of documentation at sea, 134 different vessels were sighted in the EEZs of Guinea-Bissau, Guinea and Southern Senegal. These vessels were flagged to 7 different countries: China, Comoros, Guinea, Korea, Morocco, Panama and Senegal. These include different types of vessels: 122 fishing vessels, 7 reefers (refrigerated transport vessels), 2 supply vessels, 2 patrol boats and 1 oil tanker. The vessels’ positions, flags and types are shown in Table 2.1, and a summary table for each vessel is provided in Annex 1.

Table 2.1. Vessels sighted during 2014 the Esperanza Expedition a)

By flag State EEZ

Flag

Senegal

China 13 (11 Chinese owned)

Senegal

Guinea-Bissau

Guinea

Total

51

28

79

1

14

28

6

6

Comoros Guinea

3

1

4

Korea

3

1

4

Morocco

2

2

Panama

1 (Chinese owned)

1

unknown

10 (9 possibly flagged to Guinea, 1 possibly flagged to China)

9

Sum of above

68

53

134

Senegal

Guinea-Bissau

Guinea

Total

fishing vessels

13

43

66

122 (121 trawlers)

reefers

0

7

0

7

supply vessel

0

1

1

2

Patrol boat

0

1

1

2

oil tanker

0

1

0

1

Sum of above

13

53

68

134

b)

13

By vessel type

Type

EEZ

In total 53 potential infractions committed by 32 vessels have been identified, including: 1) two Chinese-flagged vessels fishing inside the 12 NM zone (Bo Yuan 9 and Lian Run 26);

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Esperanza West Africa Expedition 2014

2) twelve Chinese-flagged vessels fishing inside the 20 m isobath zone (Bo Yuan 1, Bo Yuan 2, Bo Yuan 5, Bo Yuan 6, Bo Yuan 7, Bo Yuan 8, Bo Yuan 9, Liao Pu Yu 15095, Lian Run 26, Lian Run 33, Lian Run 37 and Lian Run 38); 3) one Korean-flagged vessel fishing but the license has expired 21(Hae Jeong 3); 4) three Korean-flagged vessels fishing inside the 20 m isobath zone (Medra, Seo Jin 1 and Tae Woong 608); 5) one Comoros-flagged vessel fishing but the license had expired(Flipper 3); 6) one at-sea transshipment between the Flipper 3 and the Saly Reefer, but the Flipper 3’s license had expired 7) 2 Senegalese-flagged vessels fishing but not on the official list of authorized vessels; nine Senegalese-, one Guinea- and one Moroccan-flagged vessels were on the official list of authorized vessels but the license has expired.

8) one vessel fishing inside the 20m isobath zone, nationality unknown.

In Guinea, a total of 24 potential infractions were documented. 16 of these were committed by Chineseflagged vessels, 6 by Korean-flagged vessels, 1 by a Senegalese-flagged vessel and 1 unknown.

In Guinea-Bissau, a total of 29 potential infractions were documented. Out of which 17 were committed by Senegalese-flagged vessels, 4 by Korean-flagged vessels, 4 by Guinean-flagged vessels, 2 by Comoros-flagged vessels, and 2 by Moroccan-flagged vessels.

These cases are described in more detail in Section 3.1-3.4.

Table 2.2. Potential infractions sighted during the Esperanza Expedition 2014 (Time: UTC-1) Types of Infraction Fishing inside 12 NM zone (prohibited zone for industrial fishing vessels) Fishing inside the 20m isobath (prohibited zone for industrial fishing vessels)

Vessel Name

Date and time observed

Flag

EEZ

Bo Yuan 9

19 Nov 2014, 5:30

China

Guinea

Lian Run 26

7 Nov 2014, 2:56

China

Guinea

Bo Yuan 1 Bo Yuan 2 Bo Yuan 5

28 Oct 2014, 7:54 28 Oct 2014, 7:56 16 Nov 2014, 15:22 28 Oct 2014, 8:03 18 Nov 2014, 8:23 19 Nov 2014, 7:47 28 Oct 2014, 7:55 28 Oct 2014, 7:45 28 Oct 2014, 8:10 28 Oct 2014, 7:46 19 Nov 2014, 23:10 19 Nov 2014, 23:10 18 Nov 2014, 14:41 19 Nov 2014, 23:10 1 Nov 2014, 8:41 13 Nov 2014, 14:02 18 Nov 2014, 14:25 13 Nov 2014, 13:49 18 Nov 2014, 14:20 18 Nov 2014, 2:29 28 Oct 2014, 7:38

China China China

Guinea Guinea Guinea

China

Guinea

China China China China China China China China

Guinea Guinea Guinea Guinea Guinea Guinea Guinea Guinea

Korea

Guinea

Korea

Guinea

Korea Unknown

Guinea Guinea

Bo Yuan 6 Bo Yuan 7 Bo Yuan 8 Bo Yuan 9 Liao Pu Yu 15095 Lian Run 26 Lian Run 33 Lian Run 37 Lian Run 38 Medra Seo Jin 1 Tae Woong 608 Benty 1

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Esperanza West Africa Expedition 2014

Types of Infraction Fishing but not on the official list of authorized vessels On the official list of authorized vessels but the license had expired

Vessel Name Borom

Date and time observed 30 Oct 2014, 8:21

Flag Senegal

EEZ Guinea-Bissau

Kambal III

28 Oct 2014, 18:00

Senegal

Guinea

Flipper 3

12 Nov 2014, 7:29 29 Oct 2014, 7:56 31 Oct 2014, 10:56 11 Nov 2014, 19:49 13 Nov 2014, 7:28 26 Oct 2014, 9:16 29 Oct 2014, 21:28 30 Oct 2014, 17:51 12 Nov 2014, 7:45 26 Oct 2014, 10:01 30 Oct 2014, 8:35 30 Oct 2014, 8:28 26 Oct 2014, 9:14 12 Nov 2014, 11:56 26 Oct 2014, 9:10 29 Oct 2014, 7:51 31 Oct 2014, 10:49 30 Oct 2014, 8:27 30 Oct 2014, 7:26 12 Nov 2014, 11:46 29 Oct 2014, 8:02 31 Oct 2014, 10:49 11 Nov 2014, 20:01 13 Nov 2014, 7:31 28 Oct 2014, 20:05 4 Nov 2014, 16:11 13 Nov 2014, 7:46

Comoros

Guinea-Bissau

Guinea

Guinea-Bissau

Korea

Guinea-Bissau

Morocco

Guinea-Bissau

Senegal

Guinea-Bissau

Senegal

Guinea-Bissau

Senegal

Guinea-Bissau

Senegal

Guinea-Bissau

Senegal

Guinea-Bissau

Senegal

Guinea-Bissau

Senegal

Guinea-Bissau

Senegal

Guinea-Bissau

Senegal

Guinea-Bissau

Comoros

Guinea-Bissau

Poilao

Hae Jeong 3

Fishemar 2 Anta Starr Betty Ile de Carabane Marcantonio Bragadin Ria de Dakar Santana

Saturnia

Segundo San Rafael Sona Transshipment between a reefer and a fishing vessel without a valid license

Flipper 3 and the 30 Oct 2014, 17:10 Saly Reefer

Only a few fishing vessels in the area had an Automatic Identification System (AIS) device activated. Several cases were observed where the vessel's name, MMSI number and/or position were wrongly reported. AIS information can be easily manipulated and there are no mechanisms that ensure that this information is reliable or consequences following manipulation of the AIS information (see section 3.5).

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Esperanza West Africa Expedition 2014 Map 2.1. Fishing vessels sighted during the documentation period.

2223

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Esperanza West Africa Expedition 2014

Besides the transshipment between Saly Reefer and Flipper 3, three other at-sea transshipments were documented, all in the waters of Guinea-Bissau: – between Hai Feng 895 and CNFC 9305, on 13 November; – between Hai Feng 896 and CNFC 9308, on 13 November; – between Hai Feng 895 and CNFC 9510, on 14 November; Based on available information, it is not possible to determine whether these operations were duly authorized and conducted according to legal requirements. But, although Guinea-Bissau law provides for the authorization of transshipment at sea under certain conditions, given the lack of monitoring and control capacity, some transshipment operations are bound to escape supervision.

Map 2.2. At sea transshipment and supply activities in Guinea-Bissau and Guinea

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Esperanza West Africa Expedition 2014

3. Potential IUU Cases 3.1. Chinese-flagged vessels 3.1.1. Vessels owned by Dalian Bo Yuan Overseas Fisheries Co. Ltd. Summary: The Bo Yuan 9, belonging to Dalian Bo Yuan Overseas Fisheries Co. Ltd.(Dalian Bo Yuan), was found fishing inside the 12 NM zone. The vessels Bo Yuan 1, Bo Yuan 2, Bo Yuan 5, Bo Yuan 6, Bo Yuan 7, Bo Yuan 8, Bo Yuan 9 and Liao Pu Yu 15095 were found fishing inside the 20 m isobath.

On 19 November while sailing along the 12 NM territorial waters limit, a vessel was detected at 03:50h on the radar of the Esperanza. The vessel was inside the 12 NM zone and at trawling speed. At around 05:45h a RHIB was put in the water and at 06:12h the RHIB met the vessel which was identified as Bo Yuan 9. At 07:50h helicopter footage was obtained from the same vessel, steaming but still showing a big amount of fish being sorted on deck. The whole sequence from 03:50h to 07:50h was recorded through radar screenshots at least every five minutes. At no time was the target lost on the radar screen.

Image 3.1.1.1. Target 51 corresponds to Bo Yuan 9, inside the 12 NM zone (dotted line), making 3.9 knot.

The Bo Yuan 1, Bo Yuan 2, Bo Yuan 6, Bo Yuan 7, Bo Yuan 8, Bo Yuan 9 and Liao Pu Yu 15095 were found fishing on 28 October 2014 inside the 20 m isobath by the helicopter. The Bo Yuan 5 was also found by the helicopter inside the 20m isobath on 28 October 2014, and the Bo Yuan 6 on 18 November and 19 November 2014.

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Esperanza West Africa Expedition 2014 Image 3.1.1.2. On 28 Oct. 2014, Bo Yuan 9 was found illegally fishing inside the 20m isobath zone. The vessel was also found fishing inside 12 NM zone on 19th Nov 2014 Š Jiri Rezac / Greenpeace

Map 3.1.1.1. Dalian Bo Yuan vessels sighted during the documentation period.

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Esperanza West Africa Expedition 2014

3.1.2. Vessels owned by Dalian Lian Run Overseas Fisheries Co. ltd.

Summary: The Lian Run 26, belonging to Dalian Lian Run Overseas Fisheries Co. ltd.(Dalian Lian Run), was found fishing inside the 12 NM zone. The Lian Run 26, 33, 37 and 38 were found fishing inside the 20m isobath.

On 7 November while sailing along the 12 NM territorial waters limit, a vessel was detected at 02:45h in the radar of the Esperanza. The vessel was inside the 12 NM zone and moving at trawling speed. At around 03:30h a RHIB was put in the water and at 04:00h the RHIB met the vessel which was identified as Lian Run 26. The whole sequence from 02:45h to 04:00h was recorded through radar screenshots every minute. At no time was the target lost on the radar screen.

Image 3.1.2.1 Target 68 corresponds to Lian Run 26, inside the 12 NM zone (dotted line), making 2.0 knot.

26

The Lian Run 37 was found fishing on 18 November 2014 inside the 20 m isobath by the helicopter.

On 19 November 2014 while sailing along the 12 NM territorial waters limit, four vessels were detected at 22:00h on the radar of the Esperanza. The vessels were likely to be inside the 20 m isobath and moving at trawling speed. The weather did not allow launching a RHIB immediately. At around 00:10h a RHIB was put in the water and identified the Lian Run 26, Lian Run 33 and Lian Run 38. A fourth target was missed. The whole sequence was recorded through radar screenshots every minute and at no time was the target lost on the radar screen. The positions of the vessels were plotted later on a chart. The Lian Run 33 , 36 and 38 were found inside the 20 m isobath.

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Esperanza West Africa Expedition 2014 Image 3.1.2.2 Target 2 corresponds to Lian Run 33, target 5 corresponds to Lian Run 26 and target 94 corresponds to Lian Run 38.

Image 3.1.2.3. Radar screenshot (image 3.1.2.1) overlay with the 20m isobath. Target 2 corresponds to Lian Run 33, target 5 corresponds to Lian Run 26 and target 94 corresponds to Lian Run 38. All three vessels were moving at trawling speed inside the 20m isobath.

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Esperanza West Africa Expedition 2014 Image 3.1.2.4. On 7 Nov. 2014, Lian Run 26 was found fishing inside the 12 NM zone. The vessel was also found fishing inside 20m isobath on 19th Nov. 2014 Š Gavin Newman/ Greenpeace

Map 3.1.2.1 Dalian Lian Run vessels sighted during the documentation period.

27

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Esperanza West Africa Expedition 2014

3.2. Korean-flagged vessels Summary: The Korean vessel Hae Jeong 3 was found fishing in Guinea-Bissau, although it was included in the lists of licensed vessels available to us at the time, the license had expired. The Korean vessels Medra, Seo Jin 1 and Tae Woong 608 were found fishing inside the 20 m isobath in Guinea.

The Korean vessel Hae Jeong 3 was found fishing in the waters of Guinea-Bissau on 26, 29 and 30 October and again on 12 November.

The Korean vessels Medra and Seo Jin 1 were found fishing in the waters of Guinea on 13 and 18 November, and Medra was also found on 1 November. The vessels seem to always operate in the same area, trawling in very shallow waters, sometimes around 10 m deep. We obtained visual documentation of the ships’ destructive trawling operation and the trail of mud that they leave behind.

The Korean vessel Tae Woong 608 was observed by one of our RHIBs while fishing in the waters of Guinea on 18 November at 02:30h.

Image 3.2.1. On 13 Nov 2014, Seo Jin 1 was found fishing in the 20m isobath zone in the EEZ of Guinea. The ship was operating in very shallow waters using destructive trawling and left behind clear trail of mud. Š Jiri Rezac/Greenpeace

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Esperanza West Africa Expedition 2014 Map 3.2.1. Korean-flagged vessels sighted during the documentation period.

28

3.3. Transshipment between the Flipper 3 and the Saly Reefer The Flipper 3, flagged to Comoros, was sighted transshipping with the reefer Saly Reefer in the waters of Guinea-Bissau on 30 October. It was sighted again fishing in the waters of Guinea-Bissau on 12 November.

According to the list of licensed vessels available to us at that time, its license had expired.

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Esperanza West Africa Expedition 2014 Image 3.3.1. Transshipment at sea between the Flipper 3 and the Saly Reefer on 30 Oct 2014 in the EEZ of GuineaBissau Š Jiri Rezac/Greenpeace

Map 3.3.1. Comoros-flagged vessels sighted during the documentation period.

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Esperanza West Africa Expedition 2014

3.4. Senegalese-flagged vessels in Guinea-Bissau and Guinea The Senegalese-flagged vessel Borom was sighted fishing in the waters of Guinea-Bissau, but not on the official list of authorized vessels available to us at the time of sighting. Nine Senegalese-flagged vessels, Anta Starr, Betty, Ile de Carabane, Marcantonio Bragadin, Ria de Dakar, Santana, Saturnia, Segundo San Rafael and Sona, were sighted fishing in the waters of Guinea-Bissau. According to the list of licensed vessels available to us at the time, their licenses had expired at the time of sighting.

However, it was reported that the owners and/or operators of these vessels intended to obtain licenses to fish in Guinea-Bissau. An updated list of licensed vessels would be required to confirm this information.

Another Senegalese-flagged vessel Kambal III was sighted fishing in the waters of Guinea, but not on the official list of authorized vessels.

Map 3.4.1. Senegalese-flagged vessels observed during documentation period.

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Esperanza West Africa Expedition 2014

3.5. Automatic Identification System (AIS) Misreporting AIS has become a widely used source of data on vessel identity, positions, movements worldwide, visible to other vessels and land based systems. As AIS was designed for safety purposes, it is therefore a publicly available data stream and could become a useful tool for public supervision of fishing vessels. However, there are currently no multilateral mandatory requirements for the use of AIS by fishing vessels31, and the information reported by the ship’s AIS system can be easily manipulated without consequences1.

Among all the 134 vessels sighted during the trip, only 21 vessels could be observed on the AIS system, the other 114 vessels could either have their AIS devices switched off or not have an AIS device installed at all. Of the 21 that had their AIS turned on, at least 10 of these vessels had their name, Maritime Mobile Service Identity (MMSI) number and/or position wrongly reported. All the misreported cases were Chinese-flagged vessels.

By comparing the information received on the Esperanza and the helicopter AIS systems, as well as direct and simultaneous observations from the helicopter and the RHIB, we found the vessels below reported information that was not coherent with the other sources of information: These include: Vessel name

Company

Greenpeace observation

Bo Yuan 11

Dalian Bo Yuan Overseas Fishery Corp.

1) The location shown on AIS and that observed from our helicopter did not match. The AIS reported the longitude in East but it was actually the West, showing the vesselon the land in the AIS system.

2) The ship was reporting its name as Min Dong Yu 61745 on AIS. 3) It was reporting its MMSI number as 412447093 on AIS but the MMSI number 412209032 was painted on the ship's bridge.

Fu Yuan Yu 360, Fu Yuan Yu 361, Fu Yuan Yu 362, Fu Yuan Yu 363, Fu Yuan Yu 366

Fujian Pingtan Hengli Fishery co.,ltd.

The ship was reporting false positions around 100ºWest longitude (Mexico), showing the vessels in Mexican waters in the AIS system.

Fu Yuan Yu 381

Fujian Pingtan Hengli Fishery co.,ltd.

reporting MMSI number 412440272 on AIS while MMSI number 4124402381 was painted on the ship

Fu Yuan Yu 380

Fujian Pingtan Hengli Fishery co.,ltd.

reporting MMSI number 412440271 on AIS while MMSI number 4124402380 was painted on the ship

Bo Yuan 9

Dalian Bo Yuan Overseas Fishery Corp.

reporting a name “0” on AIS

Liao Pu Yu 15096

Dalian Bo Yuan Overseas Fishery Corp.

reporting name Onwa487 on AIS

1

Unless it is mandatory and if manipulation is considered as an infraction under the legislation of the flag State Page 22 of 28

Esperanza West Africa Expedition 2014

4. Conclusions and Recommendations The result of our documentation work at sea clearly shows that West African waters are still threatened by destructive and illegal fishing practices. Both West African countries, and the distant water fishing countries home to these fishing fleets should immediately put effective measures in place to prevent, deter and eliminate IUU fishing in West African waters, and ensure the environmentally sustainable and socially equitable exploitation of marine resources.

Recommendations to all flag States and States of beneficial ownership of fishing vessels mentioned in this report:    

Urgently carry out a thorough investigation of the potential illegal fishing practices documented in this report.

Impose strict, dissuasive, non-discriminatory and non-negotiable sanctions and penalties.

Strengthen the MCS and sanction system to ensure that these companies and fleets abide by the rules.

Immediately improve relevant legislation, closing all existing loopholes that companies have used to engage in IUU fishing.

Recommendations to all concerned coastal States:  

  

Urgently investigate IUU fishing practices in their waters as well as potential malpractice in terms of oversight and governance allowing unscrupulous DWF operators to flout the rules with quasi impunity Ensure full transparency of fisheries related data. The list of all fishing vessels authorized to fish in their waters, or operating under their flag in international waters or the waters of third countries, as well as the conditions of their fishing licenses and authorizations, infringements, arrests, fines and other sanctions imposed and other follow-up, must be made public.

Ensure strict enforcement of fisheries management rules.

Improve monitoring, control, surveillance and enforcement mechanisms, including reliable and effective VMS and participatory surveillance programs.

Adopt effective national and regional plans of action to combat IUU fishing as provided by the FAO International Plan of Action (IPOA) to Prevent, Deter and Eliminate IUU fishing.

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Esperanza West Africa Expedition 2014

Annex 1. Summary of observations Potential cases of illegal fishing are highlighted in red.

No.

Name

Flag

1

Bo Yuan 1

2 3

Call Sign

Type

Area

China

Trawler

Guinea

Bo Yuan 10 Bo Yuan 11

China China

Trawler Trawler

Guinea Guinea

4

Bo Yuan 2

China

Trawler

Guinea

5

Bo Yuan 3

China

Trawler

Guinea

6

Bo Yuan 5

China

Trawler

Guinea

7

Bo Yuan 6

China

Trawler

Guinea

8

Bo Yuan 7

China

Trawler

Guinea

9

Bo Yuan 8

China

Trawler

Guinea

10

Bo Yuan 9

China

Trawler

Guinea

11 12 13 14

CNFC 21 CNFC 22 CNFC 23 CNFC 24

China China China China

BTTE BITG BITH

Trawler Trawler Trawler Trawler

Guinea Guinea Guinea Guinea

15

CNFC 9305

China

BALR

Trawler

Guinea-Bissau

16

CNFC 9307

China

BALT

Trawler

Guinea-Bissau

17

CNFC 9308

China

BAKK

Trawler

Guinea-Bissau

18

CNFC 9310

China

BBGX

Trawler

Guinea

19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38

CNFC 9311 CNFC 9312 CNFC 9314 CNFC 9502 CNFC 9509 CNFC 9510 CNFC 9511 CNFC 9512 CNFC 9702 Fu Yuan Yu 360 Fu Yuan Yu 361 Fu Yuan Yu 362 Fu Yuan Yu 363 Fu Yuan Yu 366 Fu Yuan Yu 371 Fu Yuan Yu 372 Fu Yuan Yu 379 Fu Yuan Yu 380 Fu Yuan Yu 381 Hai Feng 823

China China China China China China China China China China China China China China China China China China China China

BBCY BBGZ BBHA BKUF BYKQ7 BYKQ8 BYKQ9 BYLQ2 BAHR

Trawler Trawler Trawler Trawler Trawler Trawler Trawler Trawler Trawler Trawler Trawler Trawler Trawler Trawler Trawler Trawler Trawler Trawler Trawler Reefer

Guinea Guinea Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau Guinea Guinea Guinea Guinea Guinea Guinea Guinea Guinea Guinea Guinea Guinea-Bissau

Comments INSIDE the 20m ISOBATH

INSIDE the 20m ISOBATH INSIDE the 20m ISOBATH. INSIDE the 20m ISOBATH. INSIDE the 20m ISOBATH. INSIDE the 20m ISOBATH. INSIDE the 12 nm zone.

Transshipping with Hai Feng 895 Transshipping with Hai Feng 896 Transshipping with Hai Feng 895

Page 24 of 28

Esperanza West Africa Expedition 2014

39

Hai Feng 896

China

BZZQ5

Reefer

Guinea-Bissau

China

BCGG

Tanker

Guinea-Bissau

China China

BDNB2 BDNB3

Trawler Trawler

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau

41 42

Hai Gong You 302 He Bei 801 He Bei 802

43

Jiu Yuan 811

China

BKSY2

Trawler

Guinea

44 45 46 47

Jiu Yuan 812 Lian Run 17 Lian Run 18 Lian Run 19

China China China China

BKST2 V3LB-3

Trawler Trawler Trawler Trawler

Guinea Guinea Guinea Guinea

48

Lian Run 26

China

B2SQ3

Trawler

Guinea

49

Lian Run 28

China

B2SQ5

Trawler

Guinea

50

Lian Run 33

China

BECD2

Trawler

Guinea

51 52 53

Lian Run 34 Lian Run 35 Lian Run 36

China China China

BECD3 BECD4 BECD5

Trawler Trawler Trawler

Guinea Guinea Guinea

54

Lian Run 37

China

BECD6

Trawler

Guinea

55

Lian Run 38

China

BECD7

Trawler

Guinea

56 57

China China

Trawler Trawler

Guinea Guinea

China

Trawler

Guinea

China

Trawler

Guinea

60

Lian Run 39 Lian Run 40 Liao Pu Yu 15095 Liao Pu Yu 15096 Yuan Yu 10

China

BYXB8

Trawler

Guinea-Bissau

61

Yuan Yu 15

China

BYZB3

Trawler

Guinea-Bissau

62

Yuan Yu 17

China

BYYB9

Trawler

Guinea-Bissau

63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70

Yue Yuan Yu 1 Yue Yuan Yu 2 Yue Yuan Yu 7 Yue Yuan Yu 8 Zhi Jiang 03 Zhi Jiang 04 Zhi Jiang 05 Zhi Jiang 06 Zhong Shui 9201 Zhong Shui 9202 Zhong Shui 9412 Zhong Shui 9416 Zhong Shui 9417 Zhong Shui 9418 Zhou Yu 629

China China China China China China China China

BXAG2 BXAG3 BXAF6 BXAF7 BKJV538 BKJK BKZA BKZB

Trawler Trawler Trawler Trawler Trawler Trawler Trawler Trawler

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau Guinea Guinea Guinea Guinea Guinea Guinea

China

BXAH6

Trawler

Guinea-Bissau

China

BXAH7

Trawler

Guinea-Bissau

China

BXAH2

Trawler

Guinea-Bissau

China

BBRE

Trawler

Guinea-Bissau

China

BBRF

Trawler

Guinea-Bissau

China

BBRG

Trawler

Guinea-Bissau

China

BKDR

Supply

Guinea-Bissau

40

58 59

71 72 73 74 75 76 77

Transshipping with CNFC 9308

INSIDE the 12 nm zone.

INSIDE the 20m ISOBATH.

INSIDE the 20m ISOBATH. INSIDE the 20m ISOBATH.

INSIDE the 20m ISOBATH.

Page 25 of 28

Esperanza West Africa Expedition 2014 78 79

Zhou Yu Leng 7 Zhou Yu Leng 8

China China

BKWE BKWD

Reefer Reefer

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau

80

Flipper 3

Comoros

D6FD4

Trawler

Guinea-Bissau

81

Flipper 4

Comoros

D6DX2

Trawler

Guinea-Bissau

82

Flipper 5

Comoros

D6EQ9

Trawler

Guinea-Bissau

83

Flipper 7

Comoros

D6GF2

Trawler

Guinea-Bissau

84

Saly Reefer

Comoros

D6EU2

Reefer

Guinea-Bissau

85 86 87 88 89 90

Silver Ice Koubia Moussaya Poilao Wassou Hae Jeong 3

Comoros Guinea Guinea Guinea Guinea Korea

D6DA5

J5MG7 3XWS HLBA

Reefer Trawler Patrol Boat Trawler Trawler Trawler

Guinea-Bissau Guinea Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guinea Guinea-Bissau

91

Medra

Korea

DTBE3

Trawler

Guinea

92

Seo Jin 1

Korea

6KCC

Trawler

Guinea

93

Tae Woong 608

Korea

6NGE

Trawler

Guinea

94 95

Fishemar 2 Fishemar 8

Morocco Morocco

CNA4034 CNCL

Trawler Trawler

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau

96

Hai Feng 895

Panama

3ECC7

Reefer

Guinea-Bissau

97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107

Senegal Senegal Senegal Senegal Senegal Senegal Senegal Senegal Senegal Senegal Senegal

6WHC 6VTT 6WIY 6VNH 6VUV 6VPZ 6VSZ 6VRC 6VSS 6WGC

Trawler Trawler Trawler Trawler Patrol Boat Trawler Trawler Trawler Trawler Trawler Trawler

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau Senegal Guinea-Bissau Senegal Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau Guinea

Senegal

6WEO

Trawler

Guinea-Bissau

License expired

Senegal Senegal Senegal

6WIB 6VUM 6WAJ

Trawler Trawler Trawler

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau

License expired License expired License expired

Senegal

6WJA

Trawler

Guinea-Bissau

License expired

113 114 115

Anta Starr Betty Borom Connie Ferlo Helene Ile aux Fees Ile aux Oiseaux Ile de Carabane Ile de Santiago Kambal III Marcantonio Bragadin Ria de Dakar Santana Saturnia Segundo San Rafael Soleil 10 Soleil 11 Soleil 12

Senegal Senegal Senegal

6WDK 6WDL 6WDM

Trawler Trawler Trawler

Senegal Senegal Senegal

116

Soleil 51

Senegal

6WJG

Trawler

Senegal

117 118 119 120

Soleil 61 Soleil 65 Soleil 66 Soleil 67

Senegal Senegal Senegal Senegal

6WJH 6WJV 6WJW 6WJX

Trawler Trawler Trawler Trawler

Senegal Senegal Senegal Senegal

108 109 110 111 112

Transshipping with Saly Reefer.

License expired.

Transshipping with Flipper 3.

License expired License expired INSIDE the 20m ISOBATH. INSIDE the 20m ISOBATH. INSIDE the 20m ISOBATH. License expired Transshipping with CNFC 9305 and CNFC 9510 License expired License expired No License.

License expired No License.

Page 26 of 28

Esperanza West Africa Expedition 2014

121

Soleil 68

Senegal

6WJY

Trawler

Senegal

122 123 124

Soleil 8 Soleil 9 Sona

6WDI 6WOJ 6WHY

Trawler Trawler Trawler

Senegal Senegal Guinea-Bissau

125

Zhou Yu 634

Supply

Guinea

126

Appia

Trawler

Guinea

127

Benty 1

Trawler

Guinea

128

Hai Hong

Trawler

Guinea

129

Hai Xing

Trawler

Guinea

130

Monique

Trawler

Guinea

131

Moriah

Trawler

Guinea

132

Morono

Trawler

Guinea

133

Vina

fishing vessel

Guinea

134

Xing Fu

Senegal Senegal Senegal unknown (possibly flagged

by China) unknown (possibly flagged to Guinea) unknown (possibly flagged to Guinea) unknown (possibly flagged to Guinea) unknown (possibly flagged to Guinea) unknown (possibly flagged to Guinea) unknown (possibly flagged to Guinea) unknown (possibly flagged to Guinea) unknown (possibly flagged to Guinea) unknown (possibly flagged to Guinea)

Trawler

Guinea

CK3-

License expired

INSIDE the 20m ISOBATH.

Annex 2. Marine charts, maps and legal texts referenced in this report: 1. The 12 NM zone where industrial fishing is prohibited in Guinea-Bissau was drawn based on GuineaBissau’s Lei n.° 3/85 de 17 de Maio and Lei n° 2/85 de 17 de Maio.

2. The 12 NM zone where industrial fishing is prohibited in Guinea was drawn based on Guinean Presidential Decree 092/PRG/SGG and the 2014 Fisheries management plan (Arrêté № A/2014/019/MPA/CAB/SGG).

3. The 20m isobaths inside Guinea’s EEZ was drawn based on the chart De Cabo Roxo à Monrovia (No. 7185 INT 1085), published by SHOM (Service hydrographique et océanographique de la marine), France, 1992 and the 2014 Fisheries Management Plan of Guinea (Arrêté № A/2014/019/MPA/CAB/SGG).

4. The EEZs of Senegal, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea and Sierra Leone were drawn based on charts/lists of coordinates available from Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea, Office of Legal Affairs, United Nations. (http://www.un.org/Depts/los/LEGISLATIONANDTREATIES/africa.htm ) 5. Maps of the relevant countries are available from GADM database of Global Administrative Areas (http://www.gadm.org/version2).

Page 27 of 28

Esperanza West Africa Expedition 2014

References 1

All potential infractions for fishing without a valid license referred to in this report are based on official lists of authorized vessels available at the time of observations.

2 For more details, please refer to the full report Africa’s Fisheries’ Paradise At A Crossroads Investigating Chinese Companies’ Illegal Fishing Practices In West Africa Full Report available at https://www.greenpeace.org.cn/africafisheries-paradise-at-a-crossroads-report-full/ 3 Review of the state of world marine fishery resources, FAO, 2011, P14. The Western and Eastern Central Atlantic had the highest proportion of overfished stocks, about 54 percent in 2009 4 http://www.fao.org/fishery/topic/14886/en. For example, FAO estimated that the proportion of dietary protein that comes from fish is extremely high among these WA countries: 47 percent in Senegal, 62 percent in Gambia and 63 percent in Sierra Leone and Ghana 5 Review of the state of world marine fishery resources, FAO, 2011, P14. The Western and Eastern Central Atlantic had the highest proportion of overfished stocks, about 54 percent in 2009 6 Review of the state of world marine fishery resources, FAO, 2011, P67.

7 http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0004570; http://transparentsea.co/images/5/58/Illegalfishing-mrag-report.pdf 8 http://transparentsea.co/images/5/58/Illegal-fishing-mrag-report.pdf, pg 100 9 The 20m isobaths is derived from the chart De Cabo Roxo à Monrovia (No. 7185 - INT 1085), published by SHOM (© SHOM – 2014 – - reproduction prohibited) The proposed derived products developed on the basis of the marine charts of the SHOM do not replace the official products of a hydrographic service. These derived products have not been verified by the SHOM. 10 Ibid., 9 11 “Industrial fishing” or “industrial fishing vessel” defined in the respective legislation of: Senegal: Décret № 98-498 Chapter II, Section 1, Art. 11 http://www.spcsrp.org/medias/csrp/Leg/SN/Leg_SN_1998_DCR00498.pdf Guinea: Arrêté № 007/9/MARA/CAB Art 2 http://www.spcsrp.org/medias/csrp/Leg/GUI/nouveau/Leg_GUI_1994_ARR00007.pdf Guinea-Bissau: Decreto-Lei Art 4 (u) http://www.spcsrp.org/medias/csrp/Leg/GBIS/nouveau/LEG_GB_2011_DCR-LEI00010.pdf 12 Decreto Lei n.º 10/2011 of 7 June 2011 Art 24 13 Arrêté № A/2014/019 MPA/CAB/SGG Para I (scope) 14 Décret N° 98-498 Art 44 15 Decreto Lei n.º 10/2011 of 7 June 2011 Art 35 16 Arrêté N°A/2013/10611/MPA/CAB/SGG Para. XIV 17 Décret D/2013/128/PRG/SGG of 29 July 2013 Art 1 §1 18 Décret D/008/PRG/SGG of 6th January 2014 Art 2.1 19 Arrêté № A/2014/019 MPA/CAB/SGG Para XIV 20 Loi n°98-32 of 14 April 1998 Art 32 21 All potential infractions for fishing without a valid license referred to in this report are based on official lists of authorized vessels available at the time of observations.

22 Ibid.,9 23 In the legend: “No license” means the vessel was not on the official lists of licensed vessels available at the time of observation; “License expired” means the vessel was on the official lists of licensed vessels available at the time of observation but the license had expired; “No infraction” means no infraction detectable without boarding the fishing vessels.

24 Ibid.,9 25 Ibid.,9 26 Ibid.,9 27 Ibid.,9 28 Ibid.,9 29 Ibid.,9 30 Ibid.,9 31 The application of the AIS requirements in Regulation 19 of SOLAS Chapter V to fishing vessels is entirely at the behest of the flag State. There is currently no legally binding international agreement imposing the use of AIS for fishing vessels.

Page 28 of 28

Esperanza West Africa Expedition 2014

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Published in May 2015 by

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