Almost half of the industrial and semi-industrial vessels involved in illegal fishing operate in Africa, and most are of Chinese and European origin, according to a report released by the Financial Transparency Coalition (FTC).

The practice not only contributes to overfishing, but also affects developing countries, which lose "billions of dollars" in "illicit money flows" linked to illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing (INDNR, acronym in Spanish) every year.

The analysis recalls that the INDNR leads to more than 90% of the world's fish 'stocks' being "fully exploited, overexploited or depleted," according to United Nations (UN) estimates reported by the FTC.

Moreover, this practice, the "most lucrative" crime against natural resources after timber and mining, accounts for a fifth of the world's fisheries catch with a value of up to $23.5 billion (23.43 billion euros).

"Illegal fishing is a massive industry that directly threatens the livelihoods of millions of people in Latin America and the rest of the world, especially those living in coastal communities in developing countries already affected by the covid-19 pandemic, the cost of living, and the impact of climate change," said Matti Kohonen, executive director of the FTC, in a statement.

The official also recalled that the owners of the ships continue to operate with "total immunity" due, among other things, to "complex corporate structures" that make it difficult for the authorities to identify and prosecute them.

The report by the FTC, which brings together 11 non-governmental organizations (NGOs), found that Argentina and Africa, for example, lose $2 billion (€2.25 billion) and up to $11.49 billion (€11.46 billion) annually, respectively, as a result of INDNR fishing.

The document, entitled "Suspicious networks: uncovering the companies and individuals behind illegal fishing worldwide," indicates that the "top ten companies involved" account for almost 25% of all reported cases.

Eight of these companies are from China, one from Colombia and one from Spain, according to the FTC.

The FTC report cited by Lusa, also states that 54.7% of INDNR fishing is carried out by industrial and semi-industrial vessels "with an Asian flag," while 16.1%, 13.5% and 12.8% use flags of Latin American, African and European countries, respectively.