The Age of Union’s radar identified the Rong Chang 19, Rong Chang 26, and Chang Hiu 01 as part of a fleet of five bottom trawlers operating approximately ten kilometers inside Gabonese waters after crossing the country’s southern maritime border.

As rigid-hulled inflatable boats launched from Age of Union approached with blue lights flashing, one of the trawlers cut loose its trawl net, dumping it overboard in an apparent attempt to destroy evidence before fleeing toward international waters.

The vessel was intercepted and arrested, and the discarded net was subsequently recovered as evidence. Two additional trawlers from the fleet were also pursued and stopped before they could escape Gabonese jurisdiction.

Once aboard the vessels, Gabonese fisheries inspectors determined that all three trawlers were operating without valid fishing licenses and were unable to produce vessel documentation.

Arrested Inside One of the Largest Marine Protected Areas in Africa

The vessels were intercepted while fishing inside the Grand Sud Reserve, Gabon's largest marine protected area and one of the largest in West and Central Africa. Established in 2017, the reserve protects one of the world's most important nesting beaches for leatherback sea turtles, as well as the shallow continental shelf ecosystems that support fish, sharks, rays and countless other marine species.

Gabon is internationally recognized as a leader in marine conservation and manages the largest network of marine protected areas in Africa, safeguarding more than 26 percent of its marine waters.

Following their arrest, the three trawlers were escorted approximately 200 kilometers north to Libreville by detachments of the Gabonese Navy, accompanied by Age of Union, where they remain detained pending legal action.

Operation Albacore: Ten Years in Partnership to Protect Gabonese Waters

This year marks the tenth anniversary of Operation Albacore, the long-running partnership between Sea Shepherd Global and the Government of Gabon. Since 2016, the collaboration between the Gabonese Directorate General for Fisheries and Aquaculture (DGPA), the Gabonese Navy, the National Agency of National Parks, and Sea Shepherd Global has resulted in hundreds of inspections at sea and the arrest of sixteen vessels for illegal fishing and related offences.

Operation Albacore forms part of Sea Shepherd Global's broader ship rider program, through which civilian offshore patrol vessels are provided to coastal and island states to enable national authorities to enforce fisheries and conservation laws in their own waters. Since 2016, Sea Shepherd has partnered with the governments of Gabon, Liberia, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Namibia, São Tomé and Príncipe, Benin, Tanzania, and most recently Tuvalu. Together, these partnerships have resulted in the arrest of 105 vessels for illegal fishing and other fisheries crimes.

The arrests come only weeks after the Government of Gabon announced the termination of its 19-year Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement with the European Union. The Gabonese government concluded that the agreement failed to deliver fair economic value to the country, with Gabon reportedly receiving less than eight percent of the final market value of the tuna taken from its waters.

Read more about Operation Albacore here: https://www.seashepherdglobal.org/our-campaigns/operation-albacore/