This weekend, Gabonese fisheries inspectors and the Gabonese navy, while patrolling aboard Sea Shepherd Global ‘s vessel, the Age of Union , detected a fleet of trawlers operating approximately 10 kilometers into Gabonese waters after crossing the country’s southern maritime border.
As our RHIB approached with flashing blue lights, one of the trawlers cut its net and threw it overboard in an apparent attempt to destroy evidence before fleeing into international waters. The abandoned net was recovered as evidence, while the fleeing vessel and two additional trawlers were intercepted before they could escape Gabonese jurisdiction.
Boarding inspections revealed that all three vessels were operating without valid fishing licenses and were unable to provide vessel documentation.
The vessels were fishing in the Grand Sud Reserve, Gabon’s largest marine protected area and one of the largest in West and Central Africa. Established in 2017, the reserve protects one of the world’s most important nesting beaches for leatherback turtles, as well as shallow continental shelf ecosystems that support fish, sharks, rays, and countless other marine species.
Around the world, too many marine protected areas exist only on maps. In Gabon, they exist on the water.
A marine protected area without enforcement is little more than a paper tiger. For a decade, through a partnership between the Gabonese government and Sea Shepherd Global, Gabon has been demonstrating that its protected areas are based on action, not just ambition.
