Trawlers are medium to large sized, usually steel-hulled, industrial fishing vessels. To catch their fish, either one or two large sock shaped nets are dragged behind the vessel, with two large wooden pallets or ‘doors' to keep the net open. When enough fish have been caught, the nets are winched on board and the sock ends opened to spill the catch on the deck. It is a very effective means of catching fish. There are two drawbacks to trawling though – for one, the amount of fish a fleet of boats can catch, can decimate fish stocks if not controlled, and secondly, like traps, the nets are indiscriminate and will catch whatever gets in their way; this may be fish, but might also be sea turtles.

The Gabonese coast is a rich fishing ground for the nation's fleet of mechanized trawlers, and the government has established fishing zones to demarcate where each type of fishing may occur. For instance, no industrial fishing can take place inside a 3 nautical mile (5.5km) band that stretches out from the coast or from estuary mouths. This area is reserved for small-scale fishing, as practiced by the Beninese at Mayumba; an activity vital to feeding isolated communities far from the nation's capital. Unfortunately, trawlers routinely ignore these zones and fish close to the coast, stripping these waters of fish, potentially damaging fragile sea-bed ecosystems, and catching turtles as they approach the coast to nest. In Mayumba, everyone knows about the trawlers, and there is a universal feeling of disgust when a vessel is sighted fishing close to the coast; a feeling that the community is powerless to defend itself against influences that care nothing for the region or its people.

The Park has created a partnership with the Gabonese Navy and with the Fisheries Office, to strengthen surveillance and control of fisheries not only in the Park, but also in the waters to the north, opposite Mayumba town. With the recent arrival of a new patrol boat for the Navy, we are confident that we can chase illegal fishing out of the region entirely. The Navy have only had their new boat for two weeks, but have already seized their first trawler. A new boat is also expected for the fisheries office, which when added to the Park's own patrol vessel, will form an impressive arsenal with which to combat the threat of trawlers.

Other successful surveillance methods that have been used include aerial surveillance. During February, WCS produced 6 illegal fishing reports from a single coastal over-flight to count turtle nests! The Gabonese government is also planning to place satellite tracking devices on each trawler, permitting them to locate every vessel at any moment of the day. If well managed, this method will ‘clean up' the majority of offending boats, but the menace of foreign vessels fishing illegally in Gabon will remain. For instance, in October of 2005, the Park, in collaboration with the Navy, the Fisheries Office, and WCS, launched a mission which seized 7 Congolese fishing boats spotted fishing in the south of the Park. A large number of dead sea turtles had been seen washing up on the beach, and it is strongly suspected that these boats were the cause. The Congolese vessels have not repeated their misdemeanor, and there have been no new cases of turtle mortality.

Another threat comes in the shape of large Korean ‘mother-ships' that come to fish under license in Gabon, carrying up to 40 small wooden canoes on board, manned by Senegalese fishermen. The big ship waits in deeper water offshore where it is permitted to fish, but the canoes motor in close to the coast, or to fish close to the numerous oil rigs in the area. Using hand-lines, these experienced fishermen target big fish and sharks, and can have a major impact on a local fishery. Being small and wooden, they do not show up on radar, and are hard to spot with telescopes.

Gabon knows that unless fisheries controls are taken seriously, over-fishing is inevitable, and its results can be devastating. The Nation still has time to avoid a catastrophe, but needs to maximize its efforts now, and support programs like that underway by the joint forces of the Park, Navy and Fisheries in Mayumba.