World | Other World Stories  Fishing communities drive off
‘pirate’ trawlers  Vessels operating illegally in protected
waters stay away after being filmed    • Guardian   • Published:
16:39 October 11, 2012   • Gulf News  London: A group of 23
impoverished West African fishing communities has driven off a
fleet of illegal, unreported and unregulated “pirate” trawlers
by filming and reporting them when they are found in their
waters.   Images of the pirate ships and their GPS positions are
analysed to establish the identity of the vessels and the
evidence is passed on to European Union (EU) and African
governments, fishing ports and other communities. Nine of the 10
ships identified by the Sierra Leonean communities were found to
have licences to export their catches to Europe.  The effect of
communities policing their own waters has been spectacular, says
EJF, in a new report on pirate fishing in West Africa. More than
US$500,000 in fines has been collected from the vessel owners,
$6m worth of fish has been s