The non-payment of a record fine in Ghana is putting renewed scrutiny on the locally registered operations of Chinese fishing companies in Africa.
Gyinam Fisheries Limited has failed to pay the USD 1 million (EUR 900,000) penalty imposed after one of its trawlers was arrested by Ghanaian fisheries authorities and charged with illegal fishing in Ghana’s waters in June 2019.
The fine, which was due to be paid by 8 November, 2019, is the maximum applicable under Ghanaian law. The vessel, owned by a major Chinese fishery firm with clients in Europe, was found with illegal nets and undersized fish on board. Such fish are the staple catch of local artisinal fishers, who have been complaining of a collapse in stocks due to industrial fishing by foreign firms – some 90 percent of which are owned by Chinese companies, which often operate through local subsidiaries, according to the Environmental Justice Foundation.
Lu Rong Yuan Yu 956 is operated by Rongcheng Ocean Fishery Co. Ltd., based in Shandong Province, a key fisheries region in China. The company’s Ghana-flagged trawler was also fined in 2015 for catching undersized fish, though it was then registered to a different local company, Rockpoint Co. Ltd.
Ghana now has to import around half of its fish – including tilapia from China – due to declining fish populations, according to EJF Executive Director Steve Trent. Trent said the West African nation is facing increased scrutiny in its enforcement of its fisheries laws.
“Pressure is certainly building at the international level,” Trent told SeafoodSource. “This is one of the few times that the minimum fine has been imposed publicly, and many people are watching the outcome of this case.
But existing regulations are still falling short in combating the wide-scale problem of Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, Trent said.
“However, based on information filed with the Registrar General on front companies operating trawlers in Ghana, it is unlikely that the local company concerned, Gyinam Fisheries Ltd, will have the means to pay. It remains to be seen what action the courts will take and whether there is a sufficient legal basis to force the company to be wound up and to ensure the vessel isn't relicensed to fish until the fine is paid,” Trent said. “We will continue to follow the case closely.”
SeafoodSource has contacted Rongcheng Ocean Fishery Co Ltd and Ghana fishery authorities seeking comment but has not yet received a response.
Photo courtesy of Environmental Justice Foundation
