A Ticking Timed-bomb in Sierra Leone’s Fisheries – FishNet Alliance Warns

The aquatic ecosystems, in spite of their importance represent some of the most heavily and dangerously exploited ecosystems throughout the world, especially in Africa. It is reported that due to coastal development, population growth, pollution and other human activities, about 50% of salt marshes, 35% of mangroves, 30% of coral reefs, and 29% of sea grasses have already been lost or degraded worldwide over several decades.
Rainforests are important and sometimes called the lungs of the planet because of the crucial roles they play in helping (among other things) to stabilize the world climate; protecting against flood, drought and erosions; providing home to diverse plants and animals; regulating water cycle; providing nourishing foods and medicines and of course supporting and providing livelihoods for indigenous peoples.
It is no longer news that the Sierra Leone’s government has reportedly secured a $55 million deal with China to build an “industrial fishing harbor” on 250 acres of beach and protected rainforest in the Black Johnson Beach off the Atlantic Coast – a move seen as a misfit, misplaced priority and bound to spell doom for fisheries in the country.
According to a petition: Save Black Johnson Beach from Toxic Industrial Fish Factory “Those opposed to the project argue that it will potentially destroy fish stocks along the Black Johnson Beach. This could jeopardize the entire nation’s food security, as 80 percent of the country’s protein supply comes from fish and artisanal fishing practiced by coastal families”.
The petition also argued that “part of the land earmarked for the project is a lagoon in the dry season that opens up into a river during the rainy season. It acts as a fish breeding site, and its water flows into Whale Bay – renowned for whales, dolphins, turtles and many bird species – when it rains”.
In an interview with the FishNet Alliance Secretariat, Nigeria, Stephen Oduware said that artisanal fishers in Sierra Leone are important and have a right to their livelihoods as fishers – providing nourishment, while also supporting local and national economy. Artisanal fishing is a high employer of labour including fishers, processors and marketers. It contributes substantially to national economies while also providing about 70 percent of the daily animal protein intake in some coastal countries in Africa and a dislocation of access to fish constitutes a major food security and livelihood problems. Hence, destroying an important ecosystem in order to create a market for export is not reasonable.
The country’s fisheries minister, Emma Kowa Jalloh, was quoted in a report that said “I would just appeal to people: ‘be patient, we want to be developed, we want to grow, we want to be classified as an upcoming country. There must be development and somebody has to sacrifice.’ “I’m not saying everything is going to be 100% perfect but we will make sure that it is near-perfect.”
The FishNet Alliance believes that Africa, more than ever needs to breathe and heal from decades of neocolonial extractivist paradigm. The continent is already bleeding from years of exploitation and blunder of her resources and this has manifested in environmental pollution and degradation; biodiversity loss; reduced fish catch; extinction of species etc. And has even exacerbated conflicts. We must not sacrifice our wellbeing on the altar of a mirage development and listing.
The Alliance also described as worrisome the way supposed African leaders get into agreements shrouded in secrecy and warned that the project is a ticking timed-bomb waiting to explode and bring doom to the fisheries sector in Sierra Leone and called on the government of Sierra Leone to reverse every agreement reached with China on the project.
FishNet Alliance is an Africa-wide network of fishers engaged in and promoting sustainable fishing in line with ecosystem limits. The Alliance stands to oppose extractive activities in water bodies – including rivers, lakes and oceans.