The Global Organised Crime Index has identified Chinese long-distance trawlers as the principal culprits in illegal fishing contributing to the severe depletion of Ghana’s fish stocks.

The report highlights illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing as a major threat to the country’s marine resources.

“Ghana's fish stocks have been severely depleted by illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, with Chinese long-distance trawler vessels being the primary culprits in Ghana's waters,” the report claimed.

In a separate section on private-sector involvement in organised crime, the report describes how front companies help foreign industrial vessels evade fishing restrictions.

“Ghanaian-owned front companies have enabled Chinese industrial vessels to sail under the Ghanaian flag in order to evade fishing restrictions,” it states.

The two findings draw attention to both the activities of foreign fishing vessels and the role of local business structures in facilitating the circumvention of regulations.

The report also alleges that Chinese criminal actors exploit connections within the state to bypass certification requirements for fishing, logging and other activities.

However, the report does not identify individual vessels or companies, quantify the decline in fish stocks or include responses from the operators concerned.