Testimonies - Transform Bottom Trawling

Fisher Testimonies

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Bottom trawling is a uniquely damaging method of fishing that undermines artisanal fisheries, destroys marine ecosystems and releases massive amounts of carbon into our environment.

The destruction wrought by bottom trawling goes much deeper than the glaring loss of marine life. Over 100 million people rely on small-scale fishing − often using the same waters targeted by destructive trawlers. They are the largest single group of ocean users and are key to a sustainable and productive ocean economy.

By pulverising complex habitats and undermining fish populations, bottom trawling creates conflict and diminishes fisheries that are critical to the livelihoods and food security of some of the most vulnerable people on earth.

Small-scale fishers and fish processors are on the frontlines of the crisis facing our ocean. When ecosystems are destroyed, seas warm and fish disappear, it is their livelihoods that are affected first.

Small-scale fishers are also the best stewards of our oceans, holding a deep understanding of marine life and the natural cycles that they encounter on a daily basis, and should be at the centre of solutions to restore our seas.

Fisher Testimonies is a Transform Bottom Trawling Coalition project to amplify the voices of small-scale fishers and fishworkers affected by bottom trawling and platform solutions that they want to see implemented.

Some highlights

Explore the full testimony map

Explore the map below to listen to fishers’ and fishworkers’ testimonies, learn more and take action to support their campaigns.

Each blue pin represents a different testimony. You can filter by region of interest, and pin numbers show multiple testimonies from similar locations. You can navigate the map by clicking on the testimony pin, the country or using the zoom in and zoom out buttons on the right of the map. Use the 🏠 icon to zoom back out to the full map and explore the next testimony.

Hovering over the pin will show the video. To find out more about the testimonial clicking on pins produces a popout box with an individual fisher testimony and a ‘Take Action’ button. The button will take you to a campaign page or learning resource.

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The testimonies in the map have been generously provided by fishers and fishworkers and collected by members of the TBT Coalition. We are always looking to platform more perspectives on bottom trawling. If you are a fisher or fishworker that would like to contribute a testimony or if you are a coalition supporter that would like to help gather testimonies please contact [email protected].

If you have concerns or enquiries about any testimonies, please contact [email protected].

Learn more about fishers and fishworkers’ priorities for ocean action in the Call to Action from Small-Scale Fishers.

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Why small-scale fishers in Chile want to see an end to industrial bottom trawling

Zoila Bustamante Cardenas, President of the Latin American Union of Artisanal Fisheries and of the Confederation National Association of Artisanal Fishermen of Chile (CONAPACH), explains why CONAPACH’s members, which number over 60,000 fishers and fishworkers, want to see an end to industrial bottom trawling.

Testimony: Zoila Bustamante Cardenas, President of the Latin American Union of Artisanal Fisheries and of the Confederation National Association of Artisanal Fishermen of Chile (CONAPACH)
Location: Chile

Read the Small-Scale Fishers’ Call to Action developed by CONAPACH in partnership with other small-scale fisher organisations here. Follow CONAPACH’s updates on Twitter here.

Learn more and take action

Can it be downloaded?	Can it be modified?	Copyright holder
No	No	Blue Ventures

The end of bottom trawling in Belize

A decade ago the last two trawlers fishing in Belize’s waters were removed from service. Hear from a spokesperson for the fisheries cooperative that owned those vessels about how the trawling ban affected their economic output, in the decade since.

Testimony: Roberto Butista, Assistant Manager of Credit and Finance, Belize Northern Fisherman’s Cooperative
Location: Belize City, Belize

Maxine Monsanto, Belize Blue Economy Director and Elmer Rodriguez, Chair of the Belize National Fishermen Cooperative Society Limited discussed how excluding destructive industrial fishing from coastal areas improved fishers’ livelihoods in Belize at the UN Oceans Conference in Lisbon. Listen to their perspectives here.

Learn more and take action

Can it be downloaded?	Can it be modified?	Copyright holder
Yes	Yes	Blue Ventures

Small-scale fishers and bottom trawling in Belize

A decade ago trawling was outlawed within Belize’s exclusive economic zone. Small-scale fishers from coastal communities share their reflections on what it was like when trawling was allowed, and share what has changed in the decade since

Testimony: Vonetta Dawson, Fisher; David Elijio, Fisher; Veronica Tun, Fisher; John Pasqee, Fisher; Michael Coote, Fisher;
Location: Belize City, Belize

Maxine Monsanto, Belize Blue Economy Director and Elmer Rodriguez, Chair of the Belize National Fishermen Cooperative Society Limited discussed how excluding destructive industrial fishing from coastal areas improved fishers’ livelihoods in Belize at the UN Oceans Conference in Lisbon. Listen to their perspectives here.

Learn more and take action

Can it be downloaded?	Can it be modified?	Copyright holder
Yes	Yes	Blue Ventures

Small-scale fishers call for restrictions on bottom trawling in Indonesia

Alhafiz Atsari, former Head of International Relations at the Indonesian Traditional Fisherfolk Union (KNTI) explains how small-scale fishers have the knowledge to sustainably manage fisheries and contrasts this with industrial bottom trawling, which is driving fisheries decline in parts of Indonesia. Bottom trawling has been banned in Indonesia for nearly 40 years, but enforcement can be a challenge.

Testimony: Alhafiz Atsari, Head of International Relations at the Indonesian Traditional Fishermen’s Union, Kesatuan Nelayan Tradisional Indonesia (KNTI)
Location: Indonesia

Follow KNTI’s camapgins to secure small-scale fishers’ rights and tackle destructive fishing on its website and Twitter account.

Learn more and take action

Can it be downloaded?	Can it be modified?	Copyright holder
Yes	Yes	None

Spatial managemen for bottom trawling and dredging in Scotland

Bally is the National Coordinator of the Scottish Creel Fisherman’s Federation (SCFF). As the son of a trawlerman and a member of a rural coastal community in Scotland, Bally has witnessed the social, economic and ecological impacts of bottom trawling and dredging first-hand. Bally is calling on the Scottish government to introduce spatial management for bottom trawling and dredging to create trawl- and dredge-free areas in which fisheries and ecosystems can recover.

Testimony: Bally Philp, National Coordinator of the Scottish Creel Fisherman’s Federation
Location: Inner Sound, Scotland

Support the movement to revive Scotland’s inshore fisheries and ecosystems by signing Our Seas petition here and follow SCFF’s work on Twitter here.

Learn more and take action

Can it be downloaded?	Can it be modified?	Copyright holder
Yes	Yes	Blue Ventures

Shrimp return to the locally managed bay in northern Madagascar

In Madagascar’s Tsimpaika bay, community-led habitat restoration coupled with appropriate fishing regulations – including a ban on shrimp trawling within 2nm of the coast – has revived an important coastal fishery.

Testimony: Nantenaina Ardo Nirisoa, Blue Ventures, Site Leader for Ambanja, Tsimipaika Bay
Location: Tsimpaika Bay, Madagascar

In July 2021, the Government of Madagascar imposed a prohibition on industrial shrimp trawlers fishing in waters within 2 nautical miles (3.7 kilometers) of the country’s coast. Small-scale fishers, who for years have clashed with the industrial vessels, welcomed the new rule and are calling for its implementation. Read more on Mongabay.

Learn more and take action

Can it be downloaded?	Can it be modified?	Copyright holder
Yes	Yes	Blue Ventures

Reflecting on the decline of local fisheries and turtle populations due to bottom trawling in Malindi , Kenya

Lali Mohamed Lali is an ecotourism operator working from Malindi on Kenya’s central coast. He wants to see an end to coastal bottom trawling due to the damage it has inflicted on local fisheries and turtle populations, which impacts his livelihood.

Testimony: Lali Mohamed, Beach Tour Operator, Malindi
Location: Watamu, Kenya

Bahari Hai is a community-based organisation in Watamu that works with fishers to protect and manage their coastal fisheries and ecosystems. Read Bahari Hai’s report on issues impacting small-scale fisheries and turtle populations in the Ungwana Bay and Surrounds area to understand how bottom trawling impacts Lali and others in his community.

Learn more and take action

Can it be downloaded?	Can it be modified?	Copyright holder
Yes	Yes	Blue Ventures

How bottom trawling has affected turtles and small-scale fisheries around Sabaki Bridge, Kenya

Mwakia Mgao Makazi has witnessed the decline in fisheries’ catches and turtle nesting acticity since bottom trawlers started fishing in her community’s fishing grounds and calls on fisheries managers to restrict the practice to revive coastal livelihoods.

Testimony: Mwakia Mgao Makazi, Sabaki Bridge community member
Location: Sabaki Bridge, Kenya

Bahari Hai is a community-based organisation in Watamu that works with fishers to protect and manage their coastal fisheries and ecosystems. Read Bahari Hai’s report on issues impacting small-scale fisheries and turtle populations in the Ungwana Bay and Surrounds area to understand how bottom trawling impacts Mwakia and others in her community.

Learn more and take action

Can it be downloaded?	Can it be modified?	Copyright holder
Yes	Yes	Blue Ventures

A call for government action on bottom trawlers to protect small-scale fishers’ rights in Malindi, Kenya

Yunus Aboud is Chair of the Shela Beach Management Unit (BMU) in Malindi, Kenya. As chair of the BMU, he is respinsible for the sustainable management of his community’s local marine resources. He’s struggling to find a path forward to address the tensions between bottom trawlers, which are damaging coastal ecosystems and degrading local fisheries, and small-scale fishers, who rely on these same ecosystems and fisheries for their livelihoods and food security. He calls on the national government to take action to address bottom trawling so that small-scale fishers’ rights can be upheld. As a first step, he wants bottom trawlers to fish further offshore, away from artisanal fishing grounds.

Testimony: Yunus Aboud, Chair of the Shela Beach Management Unit (BMU)
Location: Malindi, Kenya

Bahari Hai is a community-based organisation in Watamu that works with fishers to protect and manage their coastal fisheries and ecosystems. Read Bahari Hai’s report on issues impacting small-scale fisheries and turtle populations in the Ungwana Bay and Surrounds area to understand how bottom trawling impacts Yunus and others in his community.

Learn more and take action

Can it be downloaded?	Can it be modified?	Copyright holder
Yes	Yes	Blue Ventures

The impacts of bottom trawling on fishworkers in Somalia

Nadifo Mohamud Jama describes how the arrival of foreign-owned bottom trawlers have damaged fishing grounds around Bander Beyla and undermined small-scale fisheries. She wants to see the government act to address illegal fishing by investing in enforcement activities.

Testimony: Nadifo Mohamud Jama, Bander Beyla Fishers’ Cooperative
Location: Bander Beyla, Somalia

Secure Fisheries supports the community in Bander Beyla to manage their local marine resources through local co-management institutions. Learn about the work communities are doing to co-manage Somalia’s fisheries here.

Learn more and take action

Can it be downloaded?	Can it be modified?	Copyright holder
No	No	Secure Fisheries

The impacts of bottom trawling on small-scale fishers Somalia

In the past, fishers in Ahmed Ismail Abdi’s community in Bander Beyla would catch large volumes of fish. But since the arrival of industrail bottom trawlers which ‘sweep like brooms’, catches have fallen dramatically. He wants the government to take action to protect Bander Beyla’s important coastal fisheries.

Testimony: Ahmed Ismail Abdi, Liason for the Bander Beyla Fishers’ Cooperative
Location: Bander Beyla, Somalia

Secure Fisheries supports the community in Bander Beyla to manage their local marine resources through local co-management institutions. Learn about the work communities are doing to co-manage Somalia’s fisheries here.

Learn more and take action

Can it be downloaded?	Can it be modified?	Copyright holder
No	No	Secure Fisheries

Organising small-scale fishers to push trawlers offshore – Liberia

Trawlers often deplete fish populations and cause pollution by discarding unwanted catches. James Logan, from the Liberian Artisanal Fishermen’s Association, advocates for better monitoring of the waters and an expansion of the inshore exclusion zone (IEZ) to protect breeding grounds and prevent overfishing. He argues that without these measures, the country’s fish supply will be depleted, affecting both the economy and the environment.

Testimony: James Logan – Liberia Artisanal Fishermen’s Association
Location: Monrovia, Liberia

LAFA advocates for preferential access to be given to small-scale, artisanal fishers, within Liberia’s exclusive economic zone

Learn more and take action

Can it be downloaded?	Can it be modified?	Copyright holder
No	No	Transform Bottom Trawling

Life as an artisanal fisher. Bottom trawling in Liberia

What is life like for an artisanal fisher in Liberia? Hear from Sylvester as he describes his life as a small-scale fisher, sharing the same waters as industrial trawlers.

Testimony: Sylvester Kanneh, Fisher
Location: Robertsport, Liberia

Small-scale fishers like Sylvester are organising into local co-management bodies called Collaborative Management Associations (CMA). CMAs work to secure legal and sustainable fisheries by acting as custodians of the resources they rely on, safeguarding the future of Liberia’s waters. Read about the work coalition member the Environmental Justice Foundation is developing with CMAs in Liberia here.

Learn more and take action

Can it be downloaded?	Can it be modified?	Copyright holder
Yes	Yes	Blue Ventures

Interaction between trawlers and artisanal fishers. Bottom trawling in Liberia

When small-scale fishers and bottom-trawlers collide, tensions and conflict arises.

Testimony: Sylvester Kanneh, Fisher
Location: Robertsport, Liberia

Small-scale fishers like Sylvester are organising into local co-management bodies called Collaborative Management Associations (CMA). CMAs work to secure legal and sustainable fisheries by acting as custodians of the resources they rely on, safeguarding the future of Liberia’s waters. Read about the work coalition member the Environmental Justice Foundation is developing with CMAs in Liberia here.

Learn more and take action

Can it be downloaded?	Can it be modified?	Copyright holder
Yes	Yes	Blue Ventures

Why I spent two years working on a trawler. Bottom trawling in Liberia

After two years working onboard a Chinese trawling vessel, a Liberian fisher reflects on his time and experiences trawling in the country’s waters.

Testimony: Anonymous Fisher
Location: Robertsport, Liberia

Small-scale fishers in Liberia are organising into local co-management bodies called Collaborative Management Associations (CMA). CMAs work to secure legal and sustainable fisheries by acting as custodians of the resources they rely on, safeguarding the future of Liberia’s waters. Read about the work coalition member the Environmental Justice Foundation is developing with CMAs in Liberia here.

Learn more and take action

Can it be downloaded?	Can it be modified?	Copyright holder
Yes	Yes	Blue Ventures

The origins of the six-mile limit. Bottom trawling in Liberia

Sylvester and Cole reflect on the origins of the 6-mile nautical limit for trawler vessels and discuss what has changed since then.

Testimony: Cole, fisher
Location: Robertsport, Liberia

Liberia introduced a 6 nautical mile artisanal fishing zone in 2010. The regulation effectively reduced conflicts between the industrial and small-scale fishing sectors, but some incursions have continued. The Coalition for Fair Fishing Arrangements has documented recent cases in which deep water shrimp trawlers have fished inside the 6 nautical mile artisanal fishing zone in a series of news articles.

Learn more and take action

Can it be downloaded?	Can it be modified?	Copyright holder
Yes	Yes	Blue Ventures

Bottom trawling is irresponsible fishing. Perspectives from African Confederation of Artisanal Fisheries Organizations (CAOPA)

Dawda Foday Saine from Gambia representing the Confederation of African Artisanal Fisheries Professional Organisations (CAOPA), explaining that bottom trawling is an irresponsible method of fishing which is a threat small-scale, artisanal fishers who often cannot compete with industrial scale bottom trawling.

Testimony: Dawda Foday Saine, from the National Association of Artisanal Fisheries Operators (NAAFO) and Secretary General of the African Confederation of Artisanal Fisheries Organizations (CAOPA)
Location: Gambia

Read the Small-Scale Fishers’ Call to Action developed by CAOPA in partnership with other small-scale and low-impact fisher organisations here. Follow CAOPA’s updates on Twitter here.

Learn more and take action

Can it be downloaded?	Can it be modified?	Copyright holder
Yes	Yes	None

The impacts of bottom trawling on small-scale fishers in Tokeh, Sierra Leone

Sierra Leone’s small-scale fishers share the same waters as bottom trawlers, which compete with them for space and access to fish. They also present a threat to Alpha and other fishers’ safety, as they can destroy fishers’ nets and capsize their canoes. Alpha wants Sierra Leone’s bottom trawling exclusion zone to be fully enforced.

Testimony: Jonathan ‘Alpha’ Cole, fisher and Deputy Headman of Tokeh Community
Location: Tokeh, Sierra Leone

Learn more about the battle between foreign bottom trawlers and small-scale fishers in Sierra Leone in Mongabay.

Learn more and take action

Can it be downloaded?	Can it be modified?	Copyright holder
Yes	Yes	Blue Ventures