Editing Gulf of Guinea (section)

== Maritime security ==
Maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea consists of 18 sovereign states.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Jessica.|first=Larsen|url=http://worldcat.org/oclc/1152018425|title=Reconciling international priorities with local needs DENMARK AS A NEW SECURITY ACTOR IN THE GULF OF GUINEA|publisher=Danish Institute for International Studies|oclc=1152018425|access-date=2021-06-22|archive-date=2022-02-12|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220212032020/https://www.worldcat.org/title/reconciling-international-priorities-with-local-needs-denmark-as-a-new-security-actor-in-the-gulf-of-guinea/oclc/1152018425|url-status=live}}</ref> Where most of the maritime security issues in the Gulf of Guinea have terrible consequences for the shipping industry.

Multiple institutional mandates address maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea: the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS).<ref name=":0" /> Additionally, maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea is also addressed by the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC).<ref name=":0" /> 

There has been a 60% population growth in the Gulf of Guinea since 2000, which consequently leads people to resort to hijacking, kidnapping, robberies, and more due to food shortages.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last1=Denton |first1=Ginger L. |last2=Harris |first2=Jonathan R. |date=2021-11-02 |title=The Impact of Illegal Fishing on Maritime Piracy: Evidence from West Africa |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1057610X.2019.1594660 |journal=Studies in Conflict & Terrorism |language=en |volume=44 |issue=11 |pages=938–957 |doi=10.1080/1057610X.2019.1594660 |issn=1057-610X}}</ref> 

Climate change has become a huge problem in the Gulf of Guinea and as a consequence has different Maritime security issues become more pressing. These maritime security crimes are characterized not only by piracy but by a myriad of maritime crimes despite piracy often dominating the conversation on maritime security. The other notable crimes in the Gulf of Guinea are illegal fishing, kidnapping for ransom, drug trafficking, and oil-bunkering.<ref name=":2">Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. (2018). Gulf of Guinea Maritime Security Programme, 2019-2021. Copenhagen: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark.</ref> Illegal oil-bunkering consists of the attacking of vessels transporting oil and transferring the oil to the thieves’ own vessel, after which the oil is sold in local and international markets.<ref name=":0" /> Illegal oil bunkering at sea is mainly prevalent in the Nigerian waters. 

Kidnapping for ransom is also one of the most prevalent maritime crimes in the region. Between 2018 and 2019, the number of crew members that were kidnapped in the Gulf of Guinea increased by 50%, leading the region to account for 90% of global kidnappings at sea.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Nicoloso|first=Giulia|date=2020-07-17|title=Stark increase in kidnapping at sea in the Gulf of Guinea|url=https://criticalmaritimeroutes.eu/2020/07/17/stark-increase-in-kidnapping-at-sea-in-the-gulf-of-guinea/|access-date=2021-05-30|website=Critical Maritime Routes|language=en-US|archive-date=2021-06-02|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210602214609/https://criticalmaritimeroutes.eu/2020/07/17/stark-increase-in-kidnapping-at-sea-in-the-gulf-of-guinea/|url-status=live}}</ref> About 92% of the hostage-taking and 73% of kidnappings happening in and around Africa are happening in the Gulf of Guinea.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/341525368|title=MARITIME INSECURITY IN THE GULF OF GUINEA (GoG) AND THE QUEST FOR SECURITY INTELLIGENCE DEPLOYMENT IN COMBATING THE MENACE}}</ref> There is also a large issue of drug trafficking in the Gulf of Guinea and the region has over the last few years become a haven for drug trafficking mainly from South America into Europe.<ref name="auto"/>

=== Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing ===

IUU fishing also known as [[Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing]] has become a severe problem in the Gulf of Guinea. In 2000 were there reports of 212,800 tons of fish caught and in 2012, this number increased by 9 percent to 232,200 tons.<ref name="auto2">{{Cite journal|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1057610X.2019.1594660|title=The Impact of Illegal Fishing on Maritime Piracy: Evidence from West Africa|first1=Ginger L.|last1=Denton|first2=Jonathan R.|last2=Harris|date=November 2, 2021|journal=Studies in Conflict & Terrorism|volume=44|issue=11|pages=938–957|via=CrossRef|doi=10.1080/1057610X.2019.1594660}}</ref>
IUU consequently creates spillover problems to the social, economic, and environmental life in the Gulf of Guinea.<ref>https://www.nupi.no/content/pdf_preview/25964/file/rapport-lucas-oliveira.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=August 2024}}</ref> It presents a direct threat to the national security of the coastal states in the Gulf of Guinea.<ref>{{Cite journal|url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19392206.2020.1724432|title=The Cyclical Nature of Maritime Security Threats: Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing as a Threat to Human and National Security in the Gulf of Guinea|first=Ifesinachi|last=Okafor-Yarwood|date=April 2, 2020|journal=African Security|volume=13|issue=2|pages=116–146|via=CrossRef|doi=10.1080/19392206.2020.1724432|hdl=10023/23848|hdl-access=free}}</ref> IUU has been linked to multiple issues and forms of organized crime. Some of these crimes are arms trafficking, drug smuggling, forced labor, [[piracy]] and more.<ref name="auto"/>

IUU depletes fish stocks in the area and causes issues for fishermen and the local population [[Food security in Nigeria|food security]]. One of the main issues of IUU is that a lot of the fish that is caught in the Gulf of Guinea is fish that is unreported when caught. This causes overfishing and overfishing causes depleting fisheries all around the region. IUU fishing also becomes a severe issue in the region because it allows fishermen to fish in vessels that are not nationally regulated or managed. Furthermore, can these vessels threaten people's human security due to poor working conditions and poorly regulated boats? Many of the IUU fishing boats are old, rusty, and often in poor condition. 

Both small-scale and large-scale fisheries often do illegal fishing in the Gulf of Guinea 
In the Gulf of Guinea can we see severe blue crime spillover effects of IUU through both piracy and human trafficking. Economic activity in the Gulf of Guinea has given rise to maritime piracy in the region.<ref name="auto2"/> It is evident that in the Gulf of Guinea is there more piracy, [[Forced labour|forced labor]] and [[human trafficking]] as a consequence of IUU fishing, depleting fish stock and large competition of resources and food.

=== Further Blue Crime Consequences of IUU === 

There have been many reports of '''forced labor at sea''' in the Gulf of Guinea on illegal fishing boats. The EJF<ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=https://ejfoundation.org/reports/pirate-fishing-exposed-report|title=Pirate Fishing Exposed|website=Environmental Justice Foundation}}</ref> reports that through their studies they found that some fishermen and immigrant workers have been forced to work on fishing boats in the Gulf of Guinea for months at a time without access to land. Some of these workers were deployed to sea each day in canoes and in the night where they were forced to return to the mother ship to unload fish. Many illegal fishing boats have operated like such for many years and the workers are often contracted for two years at a time, with no chance to visit home or at times even land in general. 

Many workers are paid in boxes of what the EJF called "trash fish" -caught as by-catch- and then the way they would earn money was to further sell this fish. Other reports of forced labor on illegal fishing boats report poor and non-existent safety equipment. Little to no hygiene standards, poor accommodation standards, and very little food.<ref name="auto1"/> 

Even though '''piracy''' in the Gulf of Guinea has dropped since its peak in 2020, is it still a pressing issue in the region.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.diis.dk/en/research/counter-piracy-in-the-gulf-of-guinea-must-not-overlook-local-struggle-and-suffering|title=Counter-piracy in the Gulf of Guinea must not overlook local struggle and suffering &#124; DIIS}}</ref> Many pirate groups in the Gulf of Guinea often recruit unemployed and underemployed fishermen. This has become highly lucrative due to poor wages and little to no money going around. Often have these local fishermen been lured into the prospect of quick easy money and as a result sold their fishing boats to other pirates in the Gulf.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jesperson |first1=Sasha |last2=Henriksen |first2=Rune |date=2022 |title=Piracy as a result of IUU fishing: Challenging the causal link |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/10246029.2022.2049329 |journal=African Security Review |language=en |volume=31 |issue=3 |pages=245–260 |doi=10.1080/10246029.2022.2049329 |issn=1024-6029}}</ref> Depleting fishing stocks encourages fishermen to engage in piracy and more violence in the region is occurring.