Fisheries

Illegal fishing fuels global aquaculture

2026-03-18T13:52:00

Artisanal fishers take their catch to Bissau, where it will be sold at Bandim port

Source: Davide Mancini

An investigation by DeSmog and The Guardian has uncovered large-scale illegal fishing inside a protected marine area off Guinea-Bissau, with thousands of tonnes of sardinella processed into fishmeal and entering global aquaculture supply chains

The reporting identifies two floating fishmeal factories operating offshore in the Bijagós archipelago – often described as ‘the Galápagos of West Africa’ – supplied by a fleet of Turkish purse seine vessels allegedly fishing in protected waters.

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