Ecuadorian shrimp farmers battling surge in organized crime

Shrimp farm in Ecuador, via https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CWTBXd6yfdw video by Manoj M Sharma

Extortion gangs targeting shrimp producers for the return of stolen shrimp, feed, boats and engines.

Ecuador’s shrimp producers are stepping up calls for authorities to protect them from a spike in organized crime that cost around $60 million (€54.4 million) in 2019 alone.

Producers reported more than 150 criminal actions against their property in 2019, including assault, robbery of shrimp, feed, supplies, equipment, boats and their engines.

To continue reading, please click here.

Source: intrafish.com

Indonesia Extends Anti-Illegal Fishing Task Force

BY: DIANA MARISKA

Jakarta. The Indonesian government has decided to extend the service of anti-illegal fishing task force Satgas 115 following an evaluation by related ministries and state agencies.

The task force was established in October 2105 based on a presidential decree number 115, from which the name was taken. It was initially led by then Maritime Affairs and Fisheries Minister Susi Pudjiastuti and has since caught and blown up many foreign fishing boats for illegally operating within the Indonesian waters.

To continue reading, please click here.

Source: jakartaglobe.id

Nigeria loses billions of dollars to illegal fishing yearly

By Joke Falaju

Country gets meagre 40 percent of fishes in the ocean

Nigeria may be losing billions of dollars to illegal fishing yearly following the unabated fraudulent activities of poachers on the nation territorial waters.

Nigerian ship owners are worried that they only take 40 percent of what they should be getting while 60 percent is lost to illegal and irresponsible fishing.

To continue reading, please click here.

Source: guardian.ng

Navy arrests 26 crew, four foreigners over illegal fishing

Nigerian Navy (NN) says it has arrested 26 crew and confiscated two fishing trawlers belonging to a Nigerian Company, (ORC fishing and food processing Limited) for illegal fishing activities.

The Operation Commander, Operation FORMOSO, Suleiman Ibrahim, told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that his men also arrested four foreigners for illegal fishing activities within the restricted distance of five nautical miles off the Nigerian coastline.

To continue reading, please click here.

Source: premiumtimesng.com

Kenya wins accolades from France for establishing Coast Guard

Philip Mwakio

The French Government has commended Kenya for establishing a Coast Guard Unit to police its vast Coastal maritime waters.

President Uhuru Kenyatta late last year unveiled the Kenya Coast Guard Service (KCGS) and launched into service its first offshore patrol boat christened Doria in Mombasa.

To continue reading, please click here.

Source: standardmedia.co.ke

Navy Recruits 1,176 To Fight Sea Pirates

The Nigerian Navy has recruited 1,176 young men and women to aid the fight against sea pirates and oil bunkers in the nation’s maritime domain.

The Chief of Defence Staff, General Abayomi Olonisakin, stated this in a statement made available to The Tide shortly after the passing out parade of Batch 28, Basic Training School in Onne. He said the trainees underwent rigorous physical and mental training for seven months to prepare them for internal security operations across the country.

To continue reading, please click here.

Source: thetidenewsonline.com

Maritime trials and tribulations

Written by Africa Defense Forum

The guilty verdict handed down in a Sao Tome and Principe courtroom echoed across the globe.

A Chilean captain and two Spanish crew members of the notorious fishing vessel the Thunder were sentenced to two to three years in prison and fined a total of $15 million.

For the tiny Gulf of Guinea island that relies heavily on the sea economy, it felt like a rare win in a losing battle against illegal fishing.

To continue reading, please click here.

Source: defenceweb.co.za

Gabon gets new maritime operations centre

Gabon’s navy has accepted a new maritime operations centre (MOC), which was built by the United States Navy’s Seabees. It will support Gabon in protecting its maritime borders and countering illicit trafficking.

The US Navy this week said Seabees assigned to US Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 133 turned over the MOC to the Gabonese navy at a ribbon cutting ceremony at Port Gentil on 3 May.

To continue reading, please click here.

Source: defenceweb.co.za

Indonesia to Sink More Foreign Boats Amid New Maritime Tensions with Vietnam

Indonesia next weekend plans to sink dozens of foreign boats that were seized after straying illegally into its waters, including many vessels from Vietnam, the fisheries minister said Monday amid fresh maritime tensions between Hanoi and Jakarta near the South China Sea.

Also on Monday, Indonesia’s foreign ministry said it summoned Hanoi’s deputy ambassador after the Indonesian navy claimed that two Vietnamese coast guard vessels had rammed one of its naval ships patrolling against illegal fishing near Indonesia’s Natuna Islands.

To continue reading, please click here.

Source: rfa.org

$195m maritime security contract: Is Amaechi deceiving Nigerians?

By Oluwatoyin Amao

Despite a $195 million (N60 billion) maritime security contract awarded by the Federal Government to an Israeli firm, HLSI Security Systems and Technologies Limited at the instance of the Ministrer of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi, piracy and sea robbery still reign on the nation’s waters while the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA) still spends US$174,000 (N53.4 million) monthly to hire security patrol vessels.

This has raised questions about the integrity and impact of the contract in Nigeria’s maritime domain.

To continue reading, please click here.

Source: shipsandports.com.ng