Coastal African states are sounding the alarm that a lack of resources to patrol waters, combined with limited surveillance of vessel activity, are enabling illegal fishing and leading to food insecurity and the loss of income for millions of people.

Those facts were underscored during a seminar led by the Ministerial Conference on Fisheries Cooperation among African States Bordering the Atlantic Ocean (ATLAFCO) in Morocco in May.

Illegal fishing “negatively affects the livelihoods of people who depend on fisheries in the African coastal countries,” Abdennaji Laamrich, ATLAFCO’s head of cooperation and information systems, said in a report by Ghanaian newspaper Daily Graphic. “Regardless of where we live, the food we eat, and the language we speak, we all rely on the oceans to keep us alive. Illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing threatens this vital resource.”

An intergovernmental organization, ATLAFCO boasts 22 member countries spanning the distance from Morocco to Namibia. The organization aims to bolster cooperation among member nations to preserve and develop fisheries resources.

Foreign fishing fleets have targeted coastal African waters for decades.

China is by far the worst IUU fishing offender in West Africa, where analysts say 40% to 60% of all fish are caught illegally. China commands the world’s largest distant-water fishing fleet and is the world’s worst IUU offender, according to the IUU Fishing Index.

Weak governance, lack of transparency, and limited administrative and legal frameworks to address IUU fishing compound maritime challenges, experts say. A lack of patrol vessels and surveillance systems makes it hard for authorities to monitor regional waters, particularly the Gulf of Guinea’s combined coastline of more than 6,000 kilometers.

Illegal marine trade costs West Africa almost $1.95 billion across the fish value chain and $593 million per year in household income. Illegal fishing also destroys ecosystems and has been linked to piracy, kidnapping and drug trafficking.