How retired EU fishing vessels are devastating West African fish stocks and undermining the rights of local people

Sweden has operated a system of individual transferable quotas (ITQs) for its pelagic fleet since 2009, to reduce its fishing capacity by allowing fishermen to sell out and retire from unprofitable fishing operations. Since the introduction of the system the number of vessels and the capacity of the fleet (measured in both total engine power and gross tonnage) has decreased. However, many of the vessels that have left the fleet were not actually decommissioned, but were sold and moved to other countries and other fisheries, including the waters of occupied Western Sahara.

Full story courtesy of Greenpeace: