Editing Gulf of Guinea (section)

=== 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.