Illegal fishing: Guinea wants to experiment with surveillance of its 300 km of coastline using drones

The Ministry of Fisheries and Maritime Economy, in partnership with GRID-Arendal, the Regional Program for Nature Conservation of the Coastal and Marine Zone (PRCM) and TM -Tracking (TMT), is organizing demonstration sessions for drone technology and technical discussions on strengthening inter-administration cooperation to better combat IUU fishing and poor fishing practices.

During 4 days of sessions which will be held from May 15 to 18, 2023, participants will be equipped with surveillance techniques using drone technology in the fight against IUU fishing, that is to say illegal, undeclared and unregulated fishing.

Surveillance at sea requires a lot of material and human resources.  This is why the Ministry of Fisheries and Maritime Economy believes that the use of drones in surveillance will undoubtedly improve the effectiveness of the national fisheries surveillance and police center in the fight against IUU fishing. Drones are effective tools for controlling various offenses at sea. This technology will also allow surveillance at any time of the day of maritime areas which are today subject to the threat of IUU fishing.

“Equipping Guinean executives to better use drones is a necessity, because to carry out surveillance, we are obliged to use launches and personnel to go out to sea. With drone technology we will be able to stay in the office and then know more or less what is happening in our waters",declaredMohamed lamine Camara, Director General BSD at the Ministry of Fisheries and Maritime Economy.

Field activities

During this workshop, the organizers have planned several field activities to allow participants to fully understand the tools of drone technology for the fight against IUU fishing. These activities take place in a series of demonstration modules and plenary discussions. Drone technology presents itself as a complementary tool to current means of combating IUU fishing. It will be integrated into all the tools used to strengthen the capacities of fisheries administration executives.

« This technology seems to be able to provide quite a few solutions to the limitations that arise in Guinean waters. There are limits to the level of boats that must be brought to sea, to the level of agents that must be trained and to the risks that present themselves night and day, therefore, drone technology may appear as a means of overcoming some of these limits », explainsRomain Langeard, coordinator of GRID ARENDAL

Drone technology, added value

For fishing surveillance, the maritime and surveillance brigade has a prevention mission which consists of carrying out surveillance patrols in the maritime environment. Thus, this new situation offers those involved in the fight against IUU fishing a head start in the fight against the multiple offenses perpetrated in the coastal and maritime zone of Guinea.

“When we are on patrol, this technology will help us greatly to reduce fuel consumption, but also armed attacks and the energy of agents on the ground”rejoices Second Lieutenant Bangaly Bangoura of the maritime and river research brigade.

The 300 km of the super-rich Guinean maritime zone

While Guinea has a maritime area very rich in fishery products, it is of capital importance to invest in new technology to limit the risks of IUU fishing. For the organizers, this workshop will therefore be able to strengthen the capacity of agents and structures involved in fisheries monitoring and help them take advantage of the opportunities that drone technology presents in the fight against IUU fishing. At the end of this workshop, the organizers hope that all the stakeholders involved in this project have a common understanding of the activities to come and feel involved in achieving their objectives.

Lancinet SIDIBE