The seas surrounding Africa are home to some of the world richest tuna grounds, dozens of diverse endangered species. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization, more than 50% of the fisheries resources in the stretch of coast ranging from Senegal to Nigeria alone have already been overfished, threatening not only the marine wildlife, but also the communities which have maintained a generational relationship with the sea for survival.
On and off from March 2018 into May 2019, I spent weeks at sea following patrols through Liberia, Gabon and Namibia with the non-profit Sea Shepherd and the respective governments, documenting their efforts to protect marine wildlife from needless, excessive fishing. The work is to better understand Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) activities and the implementations to stop it. I have aimed to pull away from stories solely focused on the environmental impact. Instead, I link it to the effect it has on fishing communities with a focus on fishermen and their families who are little mentioned in topics surrounding IUU activities. Given that I'm on strict patrol while on board, I have had the opportunity to visit only one fishing community in Liberia, so I focused first on the on-sea efforts which most of the images reflect.
Aside from the urgency to put a stop to IUU fishing, with this work, I aim to show that Africa is not stagnant when addressing environmental issues. African nations are active participants in protecting our world and should be highlighted in the global discourse.
