A Chinese fishing vessel christened Yang I was recently boarded and searched by agents of the Cameroonian navy and a team from the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Industries (Minepia). This was off the coast of the town of Limbe, a seaside town located in the south-western region of the country, we learned from credible sources.

In addition to being in a position of illegal fishing, this vessel, according to the Cameroonian authorities, was using nets which do not comply with the regulation in force in the country in terms of fishing. The cargo of 5 tons of fish seized in the vessel, we learn, was auctioned, and the crew was sentenced to pay a fine of fcfa 7 million to the Treasury.

The Cameroonian coasts are sought by illegal fishermen. Indeed, according to statistics revealed by the technical committee of the Regional Fisheries Commission of the Gulf of Guinea (COREP), who met in Yaoundé on 14 April 2016, no less than 12 fishing vessels belonging to foreigners have been boarded and searched in 2015 off the Cameroonian coasts, for illegal fishing. A year before, 10 vessels were caught, through the patrols of the Cameroonian army.

BRM