Chinese and Turkish Fishing Vessels Plunder Catch off Guinea-Bissau

 The Guardian published on 9 March 2026 an investigative report titled "How the 'Galapagos of West Africa' Is Plundered by Floating Fish Factories" by Davide Mancini.

Floating Chinese-owned factory ships longer than a football field illegally process sardinella for fishmeal in the waters off Guinea-Bissau.  The Chinese fishmeal factories are supported by Turkish purse seiners that illegally supply them with fish.  

The offshore fish processing operation has both negative food security implications for the people of Guinea-Bissau and for artisanal fisherman in the country.  Fish are the source of a third of animal protein consumed and the informal fishing industry employs 225,000 people from a population of 2.2 million.  

Impact of China on World Fisheries

 The European Parliament published in December 2022 a major study titled "Role and Impact of China on World Fisheries and Aquaculture."

The study reviews China's mariculture and marine fisheries on the operations of its distant water fleets. The six focal countries are Mauritania, Senegal, Madagascar, Mauritius, Ecuador, and the Soloman Islands.  Considering the scale of Chinese subsidies in their distant water fleet, this leads to unfair competition in relation to EU and other fleets.  

Chinese Fishmeal Factories Threaten Gambian Food Security

ChinaDialogue published on 28 November 2019 an article titled "Fishmeal Factories Threaten Food Security in the Gambia" by Louise Hunt, a freelance journalist.

Gambia has three majority Chinese-owned fishmeal factories. Annual production from the largest factory accounts for 40 percent of Gambia's entire fish catch in a given year. There are growing calls by Gambians to shut down the fishmeal factories because they are depleating fish populations and threatening the food security of Gambians.