The Maritime Executive posted on 1 January 2026 an article titled "Report: Chinese Fishing Vessel Hijacked Off Somalia."
A Chinese fishing vessel, Liao Dong Yu 578, from an illegal fishing fleet was hijacked on New Year's Day off the coast of Puntland, Somalia. Pirates captured the same vessel in 2024 and released it after payment of a ransom.
Africa Defense Forum magazine published by the US Africa Command published on 16 September 2025 an article titled "Ghana Expands Inshore Exclusive Zone to Curb IUU Fishing."
Ghana has expanded its inshore exclusive zone from 6 to 12 nautical miles to stem illegal, unregulated, and unreported (IUU) fishing. Most of the IUU fishing is done by Chinese-owned trawlers flagged to Ghana.
The Africa Defense Forum (ADF) magazine, published by the US Africa Command, posted on 15 July 2025 an article titled "Indian Ocean Nations Grapple with Illegal Chinese Fishing Trawlers."
China has the largest distant water fishing fleet in the world. According to the World Wildlife Fund, Kenya, Madagascar, Mozambique, and South Africa lost up to $142 million annually between 2015 and 2021 as a result of illegal fishing of shrimp, tuna, at least fifty-six species of sharks and rays and a variety of reef fish. The Chinese fleet is the worst illegal fishing offender.
china-africa relations
