Chinese fishing firm Rongcheng Ocean Fisheries Co. is nearing completion on a CNY 150 million (USD 21 million, EUR 19.5 million) fishing port project in the West African nation of Ghana, despite allegations that the firm has engaged in illegal fishing practices in the country’s waters.
The municipal government of Weihai, a major aquaculture and fish-processing hub where Rongcheng Fisheries is headquartered, announced the update at a 18 December press conference, highlighting it as an example of China’s continued efforts to develop infrastructure and partnerships with nations across Africa.
Rongcheng Fisheries, however, has maintained a controversial presence in Ghana. In 2020, one of the firm’s vessels was the focus of court proceedings in the African nation for carrying out illegal fishing practices. The company’s trawler, Lu Rong Yuan Yu 956, was relicensed to fish in Ghana in spite of failing to pay a USD 1 million (EUR 847,000) fine in 2019 for using illegal nets.
“In 2019, the vessel operators were issued with a fine for using undersized mesh nets and taking fish below minimum landing size. Despite refusing to pay, the vessel had its license renewed,” the Environmental Justice Foundation said in a 2020 report on the Rongcheng vessel. “This blatant disregard for the law is enabled by a lack of deterrent sanctions and the decision – taken by government officials in the full knowledge of these crimes – to relicense the vessel before the fine was paid. If the government does not crack down on these practices, it will endanger the livelihoods and food security of millions of Ghanaians.”
Nevertheless, Weihai exports to Africa are growing by an average of 30 percent annually, according to Weihai Mayor Zhao Baohang, who spoke at the December press conference.
At the national level, China has sustained a major economic presence in Ghana through infrastructure deals and lending programs. For example, in September 2024, Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo opened a fishing port in Accra built by Chinese state-owned building company CRCC Harbor and Channel Engineering Bureau Group Co., one of several projects in Ghana funded by China with grants and loans.
Elsewhere across Africa, China has opened up seafood export access recently to several African nations, including Uganda, Madagascar, and Sierra Leone, among others. Chinese construction companies have also sought to secure contracts in such countries as Guinea, and China has also made distant-water fishing deals with nations like Seychelles.
