The Number of Small Fishing Vessels Smuggling Illegal Drugs Has Tripled

Description

I gave an expert opinion about the impact of depleting fisheries resulting from illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing and pollution, on the livelihood of coastal fishers. Reduced income, makes some of the fishers vulnerable to being recruited by organized criminal networks to engage in drug trafficking. I reiterated the need for the West African government to support coastal residents to build resilience to their vulnerabilities as a way of stemming the tides of the trend.