Shrinking stock faces Angolan fisherfolk
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00:00 China's M.O. on the seas and oceans of the planet is clear.
00:04 Fish the place dry and then leave it for another rich fishing ground to exploit and exhaust.
00:09 The Chinese militia vessels patrolling the WPS in South China Sea have been doing it
00:14 in the country's exclusive economic zone,
00:17 leaving reefs with bleached and dying corals and a fish and marine life population that's significantly shrunk.
00:23 And fishermen in the Atlantic coast of Angola bewail the same sad song
00:28 as VOA's Gail Marcus and Barbara Santos reports.
00:32 Joseca Tessa and Pache Sabino are fish traders at Tombas Beach, near the city of Benguela.
00:40 They say they are not catching as much fish as they once did.
00:43 They blame foreign trawlers for this scarcity, especially Chinese fishing vessels.
00:48 It is the Chinese trawlers that are causing fish to abandon our fishing zone,
00:54 to go far away, so it's more difficult for us.
00:58 The scarcity of fish coming to the local markets is reflected in the price, according to Sabino.
01:03 Three fish used to cost 2,500 Kwanzas, he says,
01:08 but now cost twice as much, 5,000 Kwanzas. That's just over six dollars.
01:13 People complain about the price. It's very difficult.
01:17 All kinds of fish, cachux, Caribbean red snapper, sardines and mackerel are even more expensive.
01:24 Angolan law prohibits larger vessels, such as trawler boats,
01:28 from entering protected areas reserved for artisanal fishing.
01:32 And only Angolan citizens can qualify to obtain an artisanal fishing license.
01:37 Chito Catumbela owns artisanal boats and is a member of the artisanal fishing cooperative Onjali,
01:43 which has 20 members.
01:45 For him, the sustainability of his profession is under threat
01:48 from the alleged unregulated fishing in supposedly prohibited areas.
01:53 When they notice that the fish are circulating more in the low waters,
01:58 they move into this part, ruining all the investments we made in the barges.
02:02 When they find the mesh, they drag everything away. It's too expensive for us.
02:07 We want to be heard by the inspectorate because the Chinese ignore us when we try to talk to them.
02:13 VOA contacted the Chinese embassy in Angola via email to respond to allegations of illegal fishing in the region,
02:19 but did not receive a reply.
02:21 The Environmental Justice Foundation, a non-governmental organization
02:25 that produced a report on the global impact of China's distant water fleet,
02:30 says unregulated fishing activities often take place in areas
02:34 where the fishing vessels do not have authorization to fish
02:37 and target endangered and vulnerable marine life.
02:41 We're seeing the Chinese distant water fleet scooping out vast amounts of fish,
02:47 very rarely for local consumption, much more often for international sale,
02:53 which leaves local communities, coastal communities in multiple countries
02:58 across sub-Saharan Africa literally going hungry.
03:03 The head of EJF, Steve Trent, says the environmental impact
03:07 of the unregulated large-scale industrial fishing, if it's not properly managed,
03:12 includes the near-term decline and collapse of local fisheries.
03:16 The fishermen are already seeing the signs.
03:19 Victor João, also a fishing boat owner, says he has to travel more than 100 kilometers south
03:25 to the province of Namibia to find fish.
03:28 Those of us who used to fish here in the bays are crossing between large towns.
03:34 We leave Benguela to fish in Namibia, so maybe in the next few years we will travel farther.
03:40 VOE reached out to the office of the Angolan Minister of Fisheries and Marine Resources,
03:46 Carmin dos Santos, for comment, but she has not responded to interview requests.
03:51 In previous public statements, Santos alleged that Chinese trawlers are buying
03:56 artisanal licenses from Angolan fishermen, something the fishermen deny.
04:01 For João Marcos in Benguela, Angola, Barbara Santos, VLA News.