“The African fishermen who blame Chinese trawlers for their woes”, 6 July 2026

Fishermen on Sierra Leone's Sherbo Island [...] say their catches have fallen in recent years, and they all blame the same thing – large, foreign fishing ships. [...] One woman [...] says that international trawlers are illegally entering the coastal waters [...] despite there being an official exclusion zone. [...] Fisherman Musa Gassimo even alleges [...] "In the night, the trawlers have come and [deliberately] cut the lines." He says the nets are costing them up to $250 [...] every time to replace. [...] [This] risks the food security of millions of people. [...] Thomas Turay [...] says that the average catches for his members are down some 40% in recent years. "The illegal fishing is too much," he says. [...]

These allegations are strenuously denied by Sheku Sei, director at the Sierra Leone Ministry of Fisheries. "Our illegal fishing [...] it's reducing." Sei points to the fact that all international vessels now have to carry transponders that track their movements. [...]

The Chinese Chamber of Commerce in Sierra Leone did not respond to the BBC's requests for comment. However, recent allegations of Chinese illegal fishing in Latin American waters did prompt a blanket denial from the Chinese Foreign Ministry last month.

"China is a responsible fishing nation, strictly enforcing the regulation of its distant-water fishing activities and engaging in mutually beneficial fisheries cooperation with relevant countries in accordance with international law," it said in a statement.

[...] Trent from the EJF says the Chinese government is [...] "enabling it, through subsidies, through a lack of oversight and control".