Chinese Trawlers Devastate Cameroon’s National Park Communities
In Cameroon’s Douala-Edéa National Park, local artisanal fishermen are protesting against Chinese trawlers that destroy their equipment, fish in restricted zones, and employ illegal nets and chemicals to boost their catches.
In Mbiako, a fishing town of about 3,000 residents along the Sanaga River basin, tensions escalated in 2024 when three local fishermen were reportedly shot during confrontations with the foreign trawlers. These industrial vessels reach the park through the Sanaga River from the Gulf of Guinea and carry out fishing activities in Lake Tissongo, the mangrove swamps, and the coastal waters.
“The trawlers’ army pursues us with guns at sea,” said one fisherman anonymously to Global Voices. “Sometimes they find us, cut our nets along with the fish, and shoot if we attempt to retrieve them.”
Such aggressive tactics have become standard among Chinese trawlers across West Africa, which has emerged as the global hotspot for illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. The IUU Fishing Risk Index identifies China as the world’s worst offender in this category.
Author’s Summary
Chinese trawlers operating in Cameroon’s protected waters devastate local livelihoods with violent and illicit fishing methods, highlighting the growing crisis of global IUU fishing.