Economy
Greenpeace Advises West Africa on Ways to Stop Illegal Fishing
gree
By Dipo Olowookere
After two months of joint surveillance with local authorities in West African waters, Greenpeace has completed its mission and has recommended ways governments of the region can tackle the issue of illegal fishing.
Greenpeace says an effective regional fisheries management body should be established and national fisheries policies harmonised.
Transparency, including bilateral fisheries agreements, the sharing of resources to optimise Vessel Monitoring Systems for tracking fishing vessels, and the setting up of a black list of IUU vessels and non-cooperating captains in the region must be adopted by all countries, it further suggested.
Greenpeace noted that there was an urgent need to establish a committee to monitor stock assessment and catches to bring fisheries capacity in balance with available resources.
In addition, the voices of local fishing communities, those hit hardest by industrial fishing in the region, must be made central to the planning and implementation of fisheries management. With West African fish stocks plummeting, the need for such a system is urgent.
It said in just three weeks of joint surveillance with local authorities in West African waters, 11 arrests of vessels fishing illegally occurred.
This, it said, is out of 13 fishing regulation infractions identified during the two month ‘Hope in West Africa’ ship tour, which also included fisheries monitoring and civil society and political engagement in a total of six countries.
The results of Greenpeace’s ship tour, which ends this weekend in Dakar, have been compiled in a preliminary report released today. The findings are symptomatic of West African fisheries’ desperate need for effective regulations at a regional level.
In total, Greenpeace and inspectors from Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Sierra Leone and Senegal boarded and inspected 37 industrial fishing vessels in the region.
In Mauritania Greenpeace conducted its own monitoring and presented the findings to the Minister of Fisheries, Mr Nani Chrougha. The 13 infractions included shark finning, incorrect net mesh sizes, transshipment at sea, lack of documentation and fishing outside of permits. The infractions were committed by fishing vessels with Chinese, Italian, Korean, Comoros and Senegalese flags.
According to Hope in West Africa project leader, Pavel Klinckhamers, “After two months at sea documenting and inspecting industrial fishing vessels in the waters of West Africa, it is clear that illegal fishing is worryingly common.
“We also found an eagerness among local fishermen, civil society and governments across the region to address the situation and move towards a sustainable fisheries system. The next step is for these stakeholders to show real commitment in working together towards that goal. We look forward to supporting that process.”
Without decision making powers current managing bodies for the seas, from Cabo Verde to Sierra Leone, including the Sub-Regional Fisheries Commission (SRFC) and the Fishery Committee for the Eastern Central Atlantic (CECAF), can only perform insufficient advisory roles. A lack of transparency on fisheries policies and practices also blights the region. Fisheries authorities’ vessel lists are often incomplete or inaccurate, and the numbers and details of joint venture companies and fisheries access agreements in the region remains opaque.
Also, Ahmed Diame, Greenpeace Africa Oceans campaigner, said “with West African fish stocks already in free-fall, governments must act right now to ensure food security is no longer threatened by overfishing and illegal fishing.
“Fish stocks are not restricted to national boundaries, and that is why the solutions to end the overfishing of West Africa’s waters can only come from joint efforts between the countries of this region.
“Governments must work together to set up and implement an effective regional fisheries management system to safeguard these precious resources now and for generations to come.”
In the latest round of joint surveillance, in Senegal, from 25 to 29 April, Greenpeace and inspectors from the Office of Fisheries Protection and Surveillance (DPSP) identified two cases of illegal fishing. The Marcantonio Bragadin, owned by a Senegalese-Italian joint venture, and Kanbal III, owned by a Senegalese-Spanish joint venture, were both caught using methods to constrict the mesh size of their nets, effectively making the net mesh smaller than the permitted size. The Marcantonio Bragadin reportedly paid a deposit of West African CFA 30 million (€45,700) one day later in order to continue fishing. The Kanbal III will be further investigated by the DPSP.
Greenpeace is handing its report to government representatives from Cape Verde, Mauritania, Guinea Bissau, Guinea, Sierra Leone and Senegal with strong recommendations as to how West African governments can live up to their responsibility and jointly manage both foreign and local fishing activities in order to safeguard their waters and ensure a fair and sustainable distribution of resources at sea. In the coming months, Greenpeace will also share its findings concerning the poor working conditions on board many foreign fishing vessels, where drinking water is often in scarce supply and many local crew are left to sleep, eat and wash outside.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has retained all key monetary policy parameters following the conclusion of its two-day meeting on July 21, 2026, on Tuesday, maintaining its tight monetary policy stance to curb inflation and support macroeconomic stability.
According to the Governor of the apex bank, Mr Yemi Cardoso, who chaired the committee, the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR), which serves as the benchmark interest rate, remains at 26.50 per cent. The MPC also retained the asymmetric corridor around the MPR at +50 basis points and -450 basis points.
In addition, the Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) for commercial banks was left unchanged at 45.00 per cent, while the CRR for merchant banks remains at 16.00 per cent. The committee also retained the CRR on non-Treasury Single Account (Non-TSA) public sector deposits at 75.00 per cent, with the liquidity ratio at 30.00 per cent.
The decision reflects the apex bank’s continued commitment to containing inflationary pressures through a restrictive monetary policy while safeguarding the resilience of Nigeria’s financial system amid ongoing macroeconomic adjustments.
By keeping all policy tools unchanged, the MPC signalled its intention to continue managing excess liquidity in the banking sector and maintain stability in financial markets.
The move is also expected to provide greater policy certainty for investors and businesses monitoring the country’s monetary policy direction.
The latest decision also means borrowing costs are likely to remain elevated in the near term as the central bank continues to prioritise price stability over monetary easing.
Analysts had expected the CBN committee to retain the rate after Nigeria’s headline inflation came in at 15.91 per cent as of June 2026, marking a slight decline from 15.93 per cent in May.
However, even as overall price growth has moderated significantly compared to previous periods, food inflation remains a persistent challenge, accelerating to 17.52 per cent in June.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Shareholders of Unilever Nigeria Plc will receive an interim dividend of N2 per share, the board of the organisation has said.
The cash reward was announced after the company released its financial statements for the first half of the year ended June 30, 2026.
The payment will be made on Friday, August 14, 2026, only to investors whose names appear on the Register of Members at the close of business on Friday, July 31, 2026.
A quick look at the financial performance of the firm in the first six months of this year showed that revenue improved by 22.22 per cent to N119.9 billion from the N98.1 billion achieved in the corresponding period of last year.
A rise in earnings also resulted in a 16.43 per cent surge in cost of sales, though this did not shrink the gross profit, which rose by 29.93 per cent to N54.7 billion from N42.1 billion. The operating profit stood at N24.4 billion in the period under review, higher than N18.8 billion in the same period of 2025, while the net finance income contracted by 9.43 per cent to N4.8 billion from N5.3 billion due to elevated borrowing costs.
Business Post reports that despite higher taxes paid in the first six months of 2026, the net profit grew by 8.33 per cent to N15.6 billion from N14.4 billion, enabling the board to pass on value to shareholders for their faith in the firm.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange opened the week with a 0.52 per cent rise on Monday, July 20, driven by renewed buying interest.
The volume of securities traded during the opening session surged by 6,663.3 per cent to 52.6 million units from the previous 777,002 units, and the value of securities rose by 200.9 per cent to N191.2 million from the preceding session’s N104.2 million, while the number of deals depreciated by 15.2 per cent to 28 deals compared to the preceding session’s 33 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion in trades, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 75.4 million units exchanged for N5.3 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units transacted for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million.
Yesterday, there were two price gainers and three price losers, led by FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, which slid by 66 Kobo to end at N141.15 per unit versus last Friday’s N141.81 per unit, Food Concepts Plc lost 24 Kobo to close at N2.31 per share versus N2.55 per share, and Geo-Fluids Plc declined by 17 Kobo to settle at N2.25 per unit compared with the previous closing price of N2.42 per unit.
Conversely, CSCS Plc chalked up N5.19 to close at N99.33 per share versus N94.14 per share, and Mass Telecoms Plc appreciated by 3 Kobo to sell at 35 Kobo per unit from 32 Kobo per unit.
As a result, the market capitalisation increased by N13.57 billion to N2.606 trillion from N2.593 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) gained 22.6 points to quote at 4,343.27 points, in contrast to the previous 4,320.67 points.
