14 August 2025
China’s Fishing Fleets Are Emptying East Africa’s Seas, Leaving Millions Struggling to Survive
Off the turquoise waters of East Africa’s coast, life once thrived. Fishermen in Kenya, Tanzania, and Mozambique could haul in nets heavy with tuna, snapper, and prawns — enough to feed their families and supply bustling local markets. Today, many return with boats nearly empty.
The reason, local communities say, is anchored just beyond the horizon: massive Chinese industrial fishing fleets. Operating in East African waters, often under controversial licensing agreements or in outright violation of fishing limits, these vessels are stripping the seas of fish at an alarming rate.
“These trawlers take everything,” says Salim, a 48-year-old fisherman from Lamu, Kenya. “They don’t care about breeding seasons or protected areas. We go out for hours and sometimes come back with less than five kilos. Before, that would have been a bad day — now it’s normal.”
According to marine conservation groups, China’s distant-water fishing fleet — the largest in the world — has been expanding aggressively into the western Indian Ocean. Industrial trawlers and longliners use powerful equipment capable of scooping up hundreds of tons of fish in a single trip, often targeting high-value species like tuna, which are then shipped back to China or sold on the global market.
The environmental cost is staggering. Overfishing disrupts marine ecosystems, leading to collapses in local fish populations. Coral reefs, which rely on balanced fish communities, face additional stress. Traditional fishermen, who depend on these waters for their livelihoods, are caught in a spiral of declining catches and rising poverty.
“Millions of East Africans rely on fish as their primary source of protein,” says Dr. Amina Yusuf, a marine biologist in Mombasa. “When industrial fleets take too much, it’s not just an environmental issue — it’s a humanitarian crisis.”
Some Chinese companies operate legally through deals with African governments, but critics argue these agreements are often negotiated in secrecy and provide little benefit to local communities. In many cases, foreign fleets pay minimal fees, while the fish they remove are worth millions of dollars.
Coastal towns that once thrived on fishing now see young people leaving for cities or turning to riskier work, from smuggling to piracy. “We are being pushed to the edge,” says Salim. “If the ocean dies, we die.”
