Sierra Leone has banned industrial fishing in its territorial waters for a month from Monday in a move to try to shore up stocks that was applauded by environmental activists.
The government also decreed an April 1-30 halt to exports by major fishing companies โto protect our fish stock from depletionโ, said a statement from the fisheries ministry.
โAll industrial fishing companies should stock their fish in cold rooms โฆ during the period of closure,โ Minister of Fisheries Emma Kowa Jalloh told AFP.
The West African states of Mauritania, Senega, Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea and Sierra Leone lost about $2.3 billion (more than 2.1 billion euros) a year from 2010 to 2016 due to illegal and undeclared fishing, according to the Greenpeace environmental group. Read more