Who’s behind Sierra Leone’s illegal fishing problem?

Summary

Podcast Summary: Business Daily (BBC World Service)
Episode: Who’s behind Sierra Leone’s illegal fishing problem?
Date: June 7, 2026
Host: Ed Butler

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Main Theme

This episode dives deep into the rampant problem of illegal fishing off Sierra Leone’s coast, examining its severe impacts on local livelihoods, food security, and the environment. It scrutinizes the role of foreign industrial fishing fleets—primarily Chinese trawlers—complicity and inefficiencies within Sierra Leonean authorities, and the struggle of local fishing communities to protect their only source of food and income. The episode also connects consumer behavior globally to these illegal practices.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

Life on Sierra Leone’s Shores: The Struggles of Local Fishermen

• Daily Realities: Local fishermen set out in simple dugout canoes as early as 6 a.m., risking their health and safety on the open Atlantic for diminishing returns. Many describe the profession as both dangerous and essential.

  • “Their gratitude is sickness and pneumonia.” – Local Fisherman 3 [03:52]
  • “Without fish, we could have been dead people. Because it is somehow cheaper.” – Local Fisherman 3 [04:14]

• Dwindling Catches: Observations at the beach reveal catches getting smaller, despite the significant effort and investment in equipment.

  • Interactions with market women and fishermen highlight how “everything will get eaten except the jellyfish” amidst increasingly meager catches [04:51–05:46].

• Encroachment & Violence: Large foreign trawlers, often from China, frequently breach the 7-mile exclusion zone reserved for local boats. These vessels not only outcompete locals but are accused of aggressive acts—physically attacking small boats and destroying nets.

  • “Illegal fishing is too much here. If we hadn’t been here, there should have been no fish.” – Local Fisherman 3 [06:16]
  • “This Korean trawler just came right behind me and rammed into my net...they held me by the arm and threw me right inside the water.” – Fisherman Victim [08:33]

Economic and Social Impact

• Financial Losses & Debts: Artisanal fishermen face heavy losses, often going into debt because of net destruction and stolen catches, with little hope of compensation.

  • “You have to invest more than 50, 60,000, that’s 2 or $300. Without retrieving the cash, you have to go into debt.” – Local Fisherman 1 [08:02–08:20]

• Food Security at Risk:

  • “In a country like Sierra Leone, where around 60% of all protein comes from fish, if you take that away, people have no options. They go hungry.” – Steve Trent, Environmental Justice Foundation [09:42]

Allegations Against Authorities

• Failures in Enforcement & Transparency: The Ministry of Fisheries is accused of failing to prosecute offenders effectively, not compensating fishermen, and possibly accepting kickbacks from major fishing companies.

  • “It never seems to be said...there is a suspicion that you’re taking kickbacks from the major international fishing organizations.” – Reporter [14:23]
  • Ministry officials deny most allegations, claiming that catch data is available (but then fail to provide it); they also assert compensation is paid, though the fishermen contradict this.
  • “It’s a blatant lie.” – Sheku Se (Acting Director of Fisheries) on claims of non-compensation [15:55]

• Public Infrastructure Favoring Foreign Fleets: The construction of Black Johnson harbor (funded almost entirely by China) is highlighted as an example of government priorities not aligning with local interests [16:29–17:10].

The Global Picture: The Role of China & International Responsibility

• Changing Faces of Illegal Fishing:

  • “Now...across the Gulf of Guinea, you can see it is overwhelmingly Chinese.” – Steve Trent [17:10]

• Human Rights Abuses:

  • Worrying reports include North Korean forced (slave) labor and violence against crews, including “violence against crew up to and including deaths.” [17:10–18:07]

• Chinese Denial and Inaction:

  • “The Chinese to date, it’s been denial, flat denial...They’re enabling it through subsidies, through a lack of oversight and control.” – Steve Trent [18:15]

• Consumer Role and Global Markets:

  • Much of the stolen fish enters global supply chains in processed foods. Trent urges greater scrutiny by Western consumers, companies, and governments.
  • “Do you want to take a product that’s been fished illegally, probably unsustainably, stolen from a poor third party nation and caught by a slave, or do you want a product that you actually enjoy eating?” – Steve Trent [19:07]

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the stark dangers of illegal fishing:
  • “They come right into the inshore exclusive zone. They just ram them, divide the boat into the middle. Officials got drowned.” – Local Fisherman 3 [08:56]
• On government accountability:
  • “Can you name all of the fishing boats that have actually been prosecuted for illegal fishing in the last five years?”
    • “I will not be able to name all the fishing boats.” – Sheku Se [16:13–16:20]
• On international complicity:
  • “What we found consistently over this last ten years...is where you have vessels that are fishing illegally, it’s highly likely that there will be other associated abuses.” – Steve Trent [17:10]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 01:41–06:41: Life and struggles of local fishermen; encroachment by foreign trawlers
• 08:33–09:27: Fishermen recount violent confrontations with foreign vessels
• 09:42–11:16: Steve Trent discusses economic and food security impacts
• 12:20–16:29: Government response, allegations of inefficiency and corruption
• 17:10–18:47: China’s role as dominant illegal fishing force, associated abuses, and lack of government action
• 19:07–19:28: Call to action for consumers and Western governments

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Tone & Language

The episode is matter-of-fact, investigative, and sometimes confrontational. It blends poignant local voices with incisive questioning of officials and experts, conveying urgency, frustration, and strong implication of systemic failure at national and international levels.

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Summary

This episode exposes the faces, causes, and consequences of illegal fishing in Sierra Leone. It draws a direct line from the hardship of coastal communities to the inaction of national authorities and the complicity of international fleets—especially Chinese trawlers. The problem, as painted by fishermen and advocates, is not just local but global, fueled by international demand and government neglect. The call to action is clear: greater accountability at every level, from policymakers in Freetown and Beijing to seafood eaters around the world.

Transcript

[Ed Butler]

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[Local Fisherman 1]

Morning. Morning.

[Reporter/Interviewer]

Morning.

[Local Fisherman 2]

Morning.

[Commercial Advertiser]

Morning.

[Local Fisherman 2]

How's your head?

[Reporter/Interviewer]

My head is all right. It's my stomach I'm worrying about. Thank you. Thank. Hello and welcome to Business Daily. My name is Ed Butler and today I'm going to sea

[Ed Butler]

to sea off the coast of Sierra Leone, West Africa, to be precise, where fishing for local people has become an increasingly challenging business.

[Local Fisherman 3]

They do stealing, poaching, they clear our nets here. So some of us even died through that.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

People were killed.

[Local Fisherman 3]

Illegal fishing is too much here. If we hadn't been here, there should have been no fish.

[Ed Butler]

West Africa's illegal fishing trade and its consequences. That's Business Daily from the BBC.

[Reporter/Interviewer]

So we're coming along the beach here. Virgin sand and there is nothing on it except the occasional dugout canoe from the fishermen who live here and who go out in these tiny vessels hewn from the trunks of trees. They go out miles to cast their nets.

[Local Fisherman 2]

Six o', clock.

[Local Fisherman 1]

Six in the morning.

[Reporter/Interviewer]

You go out at six and you're just in one of these little wooden dugout skiffs.

[Local Fisherman 1]

Yeah. For fishing.

[Reporter/Interviewer]

How deep can you go in one of those in the open Atlantic?

[Local Fisherman 1]

Yeah, we used to go more than three hours out sea. They leave the shore and be more than three hours out sea. It's only this ocean that supplies they are living or feed them. Go out sea.

[Ed Butler]

I'm on the island of Sherbro off the southern coast of Sierra Leone. The entire community here lives off marine resources one way or another. Herring, snapper, the abundant prawns that lurk within the mangroves. Thomas Toure is president of the Sierra Leonean Fishermen's Union.

[Reporter/Interviewer]

How long have you been a fisherman?

[Local Fisherman 3]

Since I was born, because my father was a fisherman. He got the fishing money to marry my mom. They gave birth to me. I attended school. Then I started selling fish for my mom and Kwendu.

[Reporter/Interviewer]

So tell me about the life of a fisherman. Is it a good life?

[Local Fisherman 3]

Their gratitude is sickness and pneumonia.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Really?

[Local Fisherman 1]

Yes.

[Reporter/Interviewer]

You get sick all the time.

[Local Fisherman 3]

You get sick.

[Reporter/Interviewer]

Is it a dangerous profession, a dangerous job?

[Local Fisherman 3]

Actually, it gets money if you are lucky. If you don't. If you are not lucky, it is dangerous.

[Reporter/Interviewer]

But this is like the fish is most people's source of protein, right? It's how people get their strength.

[Local Fisherman 3]

Yes. Without fish, we could have been dead people. Because it is somehow cheaper.

[Reporter/Interviewer]

Fish is the staple food for us in Sierra Leone.

[Ed Butler]

People travel from across the country to buy the fish from coastal markets like this one. But it seems the abundant catch from these rich waters is beginning to dwindle.

[Reporter/Interviewer]

In front of me is a bunch of guys dragging in a huge net onto the sand. How big is that net?

[Local Fisherman 1]

Ah, it's more than 200 meters.

[Reporter/Interviewer]

Wow, a 200 meter net. So they cast that one out and then in the morning they're pulling it in and you can see the fish wriggling inside. There's a woman here. She's picking among the jellyfish just to pull out some of the smallest sardines. Are they just to go into her bucket? Everything will get eaten except the jellyfish. Is this a good catch? This is a small catch, is it? Do you. What's your name, Madam? What's your name?

[Ed Butler]

Mary Pierre explains to me the problems the fishing communities are facing, most especially, she says, from the large foreign fishing boats that seem to be arriving here in ever larger numbers. There's supposed to be a 7 mile coastal exclusion zone off the shoreline here reserved for the local boats. But trawlers keep coming in, she says, and cutting the fishermen's nets at night to steal their catch. Thomas Toure, the union chief, confirms this account as well.

[Local Fisherman 3]

Illegal fishing is too much here. If we hadn't been here, there should have been no fish because government authorities at times do be afraid to come to the fishes. I know that somebody who is doing illegal business has the money to bribe and pay so that he sustains himself. If there is no fish, we cannot feed our children to go to school.

[Reporter/Interviewer]

So this captures pretty much what Thomas is saying. We're standing now on Tombo beach you can see out to sea. I mean, there is now three or four major trawlers, big industrial boats. They're completely different from the local ones. These are definitely closer in than seven miles. They fish at night.

[Local Fisherman 3]

They fish at night.

[Reporter/Interviewer]

Do they sometimes fish inside the exclusion zone?

[Local Fisherman 3]

Moreover, they fish inside the exclusion, inside inshore exclusive zone.

[Ed Butler]

These boats aren't just taking the coastal catch. They're sometimes said to be physically attacking artisanal fishermen as well as Musa Casimo is one of them.

[Reporter/Interviewer]

You saw three trawlers. He's pointing out to see now.

[Local Fisherman 2]

Yesterday,

[Local Fisherman 1]

it was yesterday that they throw their chain. Where would they heap the chain? They live on the shore. Around 3:34pm they go into the ocean. So when they drop the chain, they have to come back to the shore for the night. But when they are not there, the tallers will come and sweep the chin.

[Reporter/Interviewer]

They cut the nets?

[Local Fisherman 1]

Yeah, yeah, they cut the nets. They cut all, all, everything. All the fishing nets.

[Reporter/Interviewer]

Do you know who these people are? No

[Local Fisherman 1]

sooner they saw them, the trawlers move out of deep into the ocean, so they cannot meet them there. They leave the area. It happens often. We have a lot of financial constraints. Because you have to invest more than

[Reporter/Interviewer]

50, 60,000, that's 2 or $300.

[Local Fisherman 1]

Without retrieving the cash, you have to go into debt.

[Ed Butler]

Other fishermen told me of more violent encounters.

[Fisherman Victim]

I was fishing around midnight and then this Korean trawler just came right behind me and rammed into my net. I went up the boat and they held me by the arm and threw me right inside the water.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

They threw you into the sea?

[Fisherman Victim]

So they threw me right into the sea. If I couldn't swim, I would have drowned.

[Local Fisherman 3]

They come right into the inshore exclusive zone. They just ram them, divide the boat into the middle. Officials got drowned. Why am I here? Because they do stealing, poaching, that's why they came at night. They don't want us to see them even.

[Reporter/Interviewer]

Did you complain to anybody?

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Did you talk to the police?

[Local Fisherman 3]

They do complain, but they were not adhered to.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Nobody listens.

[Reporter/Interviewer]

Nobody.

[Local Fisherman 3]

Nobody listens.

[Ed Butler]

The view there of fishermen in Tombo beach, south of Freetown. I've been hearing stories like this for years in my visits to West Africa. Steve Trent is the co founder of the Environmental Justice Foundation. It's a campaign group that's been researching the issue.

[Steve Trent]

The challenge for West African fisheries is illegal fishing. You've got a situation where billions of dollars now are being lost to those local economies, most of which are very poor. They are targeting species that are the bedrock not just of livelihoods and jobs, but of food security for those people. And in a country like Sierra leone, where around 60% of all protein comes from fish, if you take that away, people have no options. They go hungry. Much bigger problems.

[Ed Butler]

The Environmental justice foundation collects videos like this one, shot by artisanal fishermen showing direct clashes with foreign trawlers. Here you can see the trawlermen throwing projectiles at the artisanal fishing boats who are complaining that their nets have again been cut. Steve Trent says the evidence, although patchy because of a lack of detailed research, does indicate that there's been a massive collapse in fish stocks.

[Steve Trent]

We were seeing declines in productivity in what's called catch per unit effort, how many hours you have to fish to catch how many fish? We were getting multiple reports, consistent reports over time from the coastal community saying there's no fish left. As fish stocks have collapsed globally, those economic pressures have driven a push towards illegal fishing. And I don't see in the near future that demand declining.

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[Ed Butler]

Steve Trent While we approached the Sierra Leonean government for an interview on this matter, Sheku Se is the acting director of Fisheries for the government.

[Sheku Se]

Illegal fishing, it used to be a big problem. At the moment we've put in place measures, so it's reducing the vessel monitoring system that enable us to see all the vessels that are licensed to fish in our waters. We used to have more than 10 infractions in a year. And if we Catch anybody engaged in illegal fishing, they will be brought to the law.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Well, hang on. I mean, you say this, but there was a case of Atlantico Fishing Company's vessel, jan May in 2024, outstanding payments of around $100,000 because they illegally entered the exclusion zone. And you let them off.

[Sheku Se]

No, we don't let them off. The vessels were brought to port, the company was told to pay, but what happened is that the fine was so high the company was unable to pay it. So recently we reviewed the fines and we have now $150,000.

[Reporter/Interviewer]

You let them off.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

That's what the Auditors General is saying.

[Sheku Se]

No, no, we never let Jamie off. I've just said they requested the Ministry to consider the impact of COVID and those who were unable to pay their fines that had accrued were let off.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

So you did let them off.

[Sheku Se]

Yes, but in principle, the government, through the Cabinet, has considered that because of the COVID I mean, you see, the

[Interviewer/Investigator]

point is here that we don't see very much clear data of many fines actually being applied in this country. It's not published information. And frequently the people concerned, the regular fishermen out there, are saying, you're looking after yourselves. You're not looking after us. The Sierra Leonean fishermen, no.

[Sheku Se]

If they want data, the data cannot just be thrown out there.

[Ed Butler]

Why not?

[Sheku Se]

We have the data that is available in the ministry and we can make it available. If you want to know what is happening with regards to infractions, we make them available.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Well, I spoke to journalists who have no idea who is being prosecuted. It never seems to be said. And the point is, there is a suspicion that you're taking kickbacks from the major international fishing organizations because the local fishermen say they are having their nets cut regularly. And I've spoken to several fishermen who are saying they're having their nets cut by big trawlers and they are not getting any relief from the ministry officials.

[Sheku Se]

There are two issues you raise. One, that we do not make the data available. I've just said we make the data available to you. On the other hand, you've raised concern that the fishermen say their fishing nets are being caught by trawlers. And that's not also true.

[Ed Butler]

It's not true.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

They're lying.

[Sheku Se]

It's not true.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Who is cutting their nets then? Because they keep saying they're losing nets, cut their own nets.

[Sheku Se]

When that happens, Artisana fishing canoes, they do go out in the open waters. They compete for fishing grounds with the industrial trawlers. And so when they go there There's a tendency that their net will be caught, especially if their lines are not on. When there is verification that the nets are being caught, the fishing companies will compensate them every time when they caught their net.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Well, I am being told by fishermen a they've never been compensated and they've never heard of anyone compensated by the Fisheries Ministry. But also they are saying they cannot identify these boats. They are hiding their identifications and there is never a patrol boat coming past to stop them when they come into the iez. This is happening, they say regularly. You're denying that's true.

[Sheku Se]

Blunt and lie.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

You think it's a blatant lie.

[Sheku Se]

It's a blatant lie. The Government of Australia is very responsible. We have fisheries observers deployed on board every fishing vessel to verify whether in fact the net were caught. If their nets are caught, and we have the evidences definitely they will be compensated.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Can you name all of the fishing boats that have actually been prosecuted for illegal fishing in the last five years?

[Sheku Se]

I will not be able to name all the fishing boats.

[Interviewer/Investigator]

Would you be able to present me with that information?

[Sheku Se]

Of course. Of course we can make it available for you.

[Ed Butler]

Cheku say, and despite repeated requests after this interview, that information was never made available to us at the BBC. The latest flashpoint around Freetown is here, at a pristine coastal resort called Black Johnson beach, just south of the capital. The government is building an international harbour here specifically for the large foreign trawlers defying local opposition. It's being funded almost exclusively by China. According to campaigner Steve Trent, the bulk of illegal fishing across this region and the rest of the world is now being carried out by China's large international fishing fleet.

[Steve Trent]

In the past, we've seen South Korean vessels there, we've seen Taiwanese, we've seen European vessels there doing bad things. But now when you look across that region, across the Gulf of Guinea, you can see it is overwhelmingly Chinese. What we found consistently over this last 10 years and more is where you have vessels that are fishing illegally. It's highly likely that there will be other associated abuses. That includes violence against crew. Quite recently, over the last year, we were able to document the use of North Korean forced, I would call slave labor on these Chinese vessels. They were being held on those vessels without ever landing. We've also now got interviews with witnesses across the Chinese distant water fleet of violence against crew up to and including deaths.

[Ed Butler]

And what do the Chinese say? Since you're pointing the finger mostly at them, what are they saying to these reports you're gathering?

[Steve Trent]

So the Chinese to date, it's been denial, flat denial. China to date still is not doing nearly enough to control their fleet. In fact, I would say they're doing virtually nothing. They're enabling it through subsidies, through a lack of oversight and control. What we need to see now is the Chinese government take this issue seriously, understand that it's reputationally damaging for them, and most of all that is harming these communities and these invaluable ecosystems in some of the poorest countries on our planet.

[Ed Butler]

I did attempt to speak to China's local trade representative in Sierra Leone for this program, without success. Much of the fish finds its way into processed foods that are sold around the world. Steve Trent says that's why consumers everywhere should start paying more attention to the origins of the seafood on their plates.

[Steve Trent]

The European Union should be pushing back on China and asking for them to take the necessary steps. The UK should be doing the same. Do you want to take a product that's been fished illegally, probably unsustainably, stolen from a poor third party nation and caught by a slave, or do you want a product that you actually enjoy eating?

[Ed Butler]

Steve Trent, that's it for this edition of Business Daily. More from us online with all our additions. Till the next time, from me, Ed Butler. Take care.

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