The Al Hanacher Group – Kerkennah (GHK) issued an urgent and desperate appeal to Prime Minister Kamel Maddouri in a statement dated Thursday, January 23, 2025. This call comes in response to the alarming situation caused by illegal fishing, particularly bottom trawling, which threatens to destroy the marine ecosystem of Kerkennah Island and jeopardize the livelihoods of its inhabitants.
The GHK reminded the Prime Minister that on Tuesday, January 14, 2025, he chaired a restricted ministerial council dedicated to addressing key challenges and proposed solutions for the development of the maritime fishing and aquaculture sectors. During this council, the finalization of the national plan to combat illegal fishing was announced, along with a review of the legal texts governing maritime fishing, notably Law No. 13 of January 31, 1994, concerning the practice of maritime fishing.
However, the GHK emphasized that these promises remain unfulfilled. “Mr. Prime Minister, we inform you that illegal fishing in Kerkennah, particularly bottom trawling, has devastated the island’s marine life and left thousands of fishermen and their families without resources. We also inform you that your executive bodies are merely observing from a distance the illegal fishing boats that destroy our resources and nets, in a worrying silence. While monitoring European borders seems to be one of your priorities, the fishermen of Kerkennah are forgotten, along with their distressed island. Finally, we inform you that our patience has limits,” the statement concluded.
Bottom trawling is widely considered by numerous NGOs as one of the most harmful fishing methods for the environment and climate globally. Fishermen and environmental activists in the Sfax region have repeatedly sounded the alarm over these destructive and criminal practices, which deplete Tunisia’s marine wealth. The situation is particularly concerning as the maritime area of the Sfax governorate, including the Kerkennah delegation, has become a departure point for clandestine migration journeys, leading to increased police presence in the region at the expense of monitoring illegal fishing activities.
