Guinea-Bissau bans fishmeal production to protect fish stocks and food security

GUINEA – The Guinea-Bissau government has issued an immediate ban on fishmeal and fish oil production to stop industrial overfishing, which has been depleting fish stocks and reducing food availability for its population.

The ban, implemented after the November 2025 coup, prioritises local food security and sustainable fisheries over the export of fish for animal feed. 

Under the directive, all land-based and sea-based factory operations are suspended, along with the licensing of industrial purse seine vessels supplying them.

Even though this will lead to lost investments from fishmeal companies and reduced export revenue, the government’s main reason for the ban is the overfishing of small pelagic fish such as sardinella and bonga, which are commonly used to produce fishmeal. 

These fish are essential to the marine food chain and coastal ecosystems.

Guinea-Bissau has long been viewed by foreign investors as a nursery for regional fish stocks rather than a processing hub. 

This was highlighted when two factory vessels, Tian Yi He 6 and Hua Xin 17, were detected about 50 kilometres off the Bijagós Archipelago using marine traffic data and drone surveillance.

The vessels, operated by Shanghai Pesca SARL and Global Fisher SARL, have been operating in Guinea-Bissau’s waters for more than two years.

According to the Ministry of Fisheries, the plants were serviced by at least six Turkish flagged industrial purse seiners, many of which relocated to Guinea-Bissau after Mauritania tightened its sector regulations in 2021.

Fishmeal industry and the economic trade-off

Fishmeal production in Guinea-Bissau has expanded in recent years in response to rising global demand for aquaculture and livestock feed. 

A Chinese owned fishmeal and fish oil plant, inaugurated in 2025, is projected to generate around US$10 million annually, while exports from offshore processing vessels have reached hundreds of tonnes of fish oil each year.

 Fishmeal and fish oil are high protein ingredients widely used in aquaculture diets, particularly in Asia and Europe, where farmed fish production continues to expand.

In recent years, Guinea-Bissau has emerged as an alternative hub for fishmeal operators as stricter environmental regulations in neighbouring countries pushed vessels to seek less-regulated waters along the West African coast.

Despite this activity, the sector’s economic contribution remains limited. 

Fisheries account for less than 4% of Guinea-Bissau’s gross domestic product, and much of the value generated by industrial fishing is captured abroad as foreign vessels often land their catches in overseas ports.

Fish remains central to the country’s food system. 

Small pelagic species such as sardinella provide roughly one-third of the animal protein consumed nationally and support hundreds of thousands of livelihoods in fishing, processing and trading.

However, much of the catch has increasingly been diverted to fishmeal plants that process these species into high-grade protein meals and oils, which are exported for international aquaculture and livestock feed.

According to Amadú Djaló, Guinea-Bissau’s director of industrial fishing, the ban aims to protect “disadvantaged populations” who rely on small pelagic fish as a staple food.

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