Background

The motivation behind setting up Turning Tides was to address an issue close to my heart: confronting the enormous challenges that the coastal fishing communities in Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) are facing in Western Africa. These areas depend entirely on the ocean for their daily existence and survival — to the tune of nearly 4.9 billion USD generated annually to the regional economy through fisheries. However, unregulated and over fishing has seen illegal fishing practices go not just unpunished but completely unabated. They have been devastating; polluting water and raising them with the increase in uncollected decomposition to flammable levels for marine biodiversity. This has led to the most grave of circumstances and even a socio-economic collapse in the MPAs.

In response to this dilemma, Turning Tides has taken initiative to counteract the ongoing state of coastal degradation. We aim to advance in a journey of community engagement and think through to a time when more sustainable fishing can come to the rescue of both marine life and the coastal communities who depend on the ocean for livelihood. By brewing a healthy mix of resource allocation, education and partnering with important stakeholders, Turning Tides will help empower and preserve the rich coastal ecosystem of West Africa.