- 5 days ago
- 3 min read
The Government of Guinea-Bissau has taken a decisive step toward strengthening sustainable fisheries governance by banning the production of fishmeal and fish oil — both at sea and on land. The ministerial directive bans factory vessel operations and onshore processing that convert small pelagic stocks into fishmeal and fish oil. Issued by the Ministry of Fisheries and Maritime Economy, it marks a significant step toward protecting fish stocks that coastal communities depend on for local food security and livelihoods.
This decision did not happen overnight. It took years of continued monitoring, regional relationships, and coordinated intelligence — including contributions from the Joint Analytical Cell (JAC), which brings together fisheries expertise, advanced technology, and data analysis to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
From a historical case to a collaborative investigation
When at-sea fishmeal production began in 2019, an investigation by Guinea-Bissau authorities, supported by JAC member Trygg Mat Tracking (TMT), documented a series of infractions, which led to sanctions. Over the following years, at-sea fishmeal production operations expanded. Whilst vessels may have obtained licenses and appeared to operate legally, in practice their activities off shore, involving transshipment and the processing of fish at sea, outside of designated port areas, were still illegal. These activities should, by law and according to license terms, only take place in designated areas in or close to port.
TMT’s follow-up analyses in subsequent years, using Automated Identification Systems (AIS) analysis, human intelligence, and other sources, found that the operations were expanding and showed a risk that fish of IUU origin could be laundered into fishmeal at sea with little to no oversight of the fishing vessels involved. Additional evidence was needed.
Satellite detection, monitoring, and vessel ownership
The JAC technology and analysis improved the visibility of at-sea fishmeal operations that were previously difficult to monitor. High-resolution optical satellite imagery acquired by JAC member Skylight helped confirm the types and operations of vessels engaged in at-sea fishmeal processing in Guinea-Bissau’s waters. The imagery corroborated and strengthened TMT’s findings, helping shed light on at-sea processing operations that might otherwise remain opaque.
Skylight’s imagery provided analysts with timely visual evidence of vessel locations, dark activity – where AIS transponders are turned off – and rendezvous events between multiple vessels. These included rendezvous between fishing vessels and fishmeal factory vessels to supply them with fish of unknown legality, and between the factory vessels and cargo vessels that transported processed fishmeal to shore, where it could be landed as a product rather than fish catch.
The Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS) added analysis of vessel ownership and registration status, uncovering vessel flagging issues that raised questions regarding the nationality and oversight of several of the vessels involved in the operation, making it difficult to know where accountability for illicit activities lies.
From intelligence to policy action
The insights from Skylight and C4ADS were integrated with TMT’s detailed fisheries intelligence and shared with the Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission (SRFC) which includes Member States Mauritania, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Cabo Verde. This work helped to address a major blind spot in Monitoring, Control, and Surveillance (MCS) of small pelagic fisheries. TMT’s contextual understanding of regional fisheries governance, fishing dynamics, and compliance challenges helped translate the key satellite imagery and intelligence provided by other JAC members into actionable operational insights for the SRFC member States concerned.
This case is a reminder of how intelligence that can contribute to enforcement gains, is developed. The foundation was years of work by analysts building regional knowledge, understanding fishing dynamics, and cultivating the relationships that make intelligence actionable. It is this contextual expertise that allowed satellite imagery and ownership analysis to mean something, to become evidence rather than just data.
Technology provided the last mile. The combination of high-quality analytical skills and cutting-edge technology gave decision makers what they needed to act. A clear, well-documented case that could withstand scrutiny and drive policy.
Read investigations by The Guardian and De Smog