The incident occurred recently in Kange Fishing Port, along the Limbe- Tiko creeks. Security sources say six unidentified boats, allegedly owned by local fishermen attacked the Chinese in their twin trawler at sea, subjected them to torture, severely wounded two and carted away about 300 bags of fish, estimated to be five tons in scientific terms

The radio communication equipment, mobile phones and other valuables belonging to the Chinese fishermen were also seized.
Following the incident, the Divisional Officer for Limbe, Peter Itoe Mbongo, accompanied by security operatives visited Kange Fishing Port to assess the situation.

Genesis of crisis
The acrimony between Chinese-owned twin trawlers and local artisanal fishermen has been going on for about two years now. The local artisanal fishermen have persistently complained that the fishing methods used by the Chinese are unsustainable and has created fish scarcity for the local population and others who come from the hinterlands to buy.

This, the local fishermen complain, is because the Chinese use twin trawlers, catching both mature and premature fish in the ocean. Whereas they are permitted legally to fish only in the high seas, their activities have become unscrupulous as they now come close to the sea-shore.
The situation has degenerated to a point where local fishermen can no longer get fish, resulting in acute fish shortage both for the ocean population and those who come from the hinterlands to buy.

Livestock Minister’s Ban Ignored
In the wake of increasing local opposition and even hostility to the Chinese presence, the Minister of Livestock, Fisheries and Animal Husbandry, Aboubakari Sarki in early May issued an order banning twin trawler fishing along the coast of Cameroon.

The order further specified the nautical limit within which mechanised fishermen must not exceed.

Despite this, there has been a lot of reluctance and volte-face on the part of the local administration to implement the order. Local artisanal fishermen are accusing the administration of conspiring with the companies that own these twin trawlers.

The companies are said to be based in Douala and are a joint venture between Cameroonians and Chinese

A fisheries technician in Limbe who opted for anonymity confided in Africanews that the fishing methods being used by the Chinese are the most unsustainable and are no longer in use any where in the world.