Editor’s Note
This article examines Russia’s strategic pivot to African fisheries following Western sanctions, revealing how resource extraction agreements may threaten marine ecosystems under the guise of scientific cooperation.
Deprived of many Western ports and fishing resources, Russia is taking a keen interest in African seas. Partnerships are being formed, agreements signed… promising the best for Moscow, and the worst for marine biodiversity.
In 2024, three Russian ships left the port of the Kaliningrad enclave for Africa as part of the “Great African Expedition.” Officially scientific, the mission aimed to map fish stocks alongside African researchers.
In reality: West Africa has become the global epicenter of illegal fishing, losing up to $9.4 billion annually in unreported or unregulated catches, according to estimates from the Financial Transparency Coalition. But behind the blessings, fanfare, and official photos, it is Russia’s strategy of influence and resource capture that is unfolding in Africa’s seas.
Under severe economic sanctions since the invasion of Ukraine, Moscow is working to forge new alliances on the continent of 54 states: military cooperation and training, agricultural aid (grains and fertilizers), arms offers, while relying on anti-colonial narratives to the detriment of Western countries.
Russia, which has seen its access to certain European ports (The Moscow Times) and American ports (NOAA Fisheries) restricted — Donald Trump renewed the ban on importing Russian seafood established by his predecessor — also has its sights on the fisheries resources of African countries.
Joseph Siegle, a senior researcher at the University of Maryland, College Park, specializing in Russian influence in Africa, told Bloomberg.
Fishing, less publicized than gold, diamond, or gas exploitation, represents a strategic stake: it generates billions of dollars in foreign currency for Moscow, which is modernizing its fleet and seeking new areas to operate. Africa, whose seas are overfished but poorly monitored, allows the Kremlin to secure resources and offers a lever to strengthen Russian presence and political influence in crucial areas.
Two of the Russian ships that left Kaliningrad in 2024 have plied the waters of Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, and Senegal, signing agreements or initiating discreet negotiations.
In Sierra Leone, Russia has obtained access to 40,000 tons of fish per year and plans for up to 20 ships, with investments in ports and local infrastructure. In Morocco, Russian scientists found healthy populations of mackerel and sardines, paving the way for exploitation along the entire Atlantic coast.
Facing European and Chinese fleets, accused of depleting stocks and excluding local communities — in June, Gabon announced the termination of its fisheries partnership with the EU after 18 years, due to its “unbalanced” nature (RFI) — Moscow presents itself as the reliable partner.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Bloomberg.
The numbers are promising, notes the American media: global seafood trade is estimated at over $160 billion and consumption is expected to jump 80% by mid-century due to emerging markets and Asia. Thanks to this demand, Russian fish exports are expected to reach $6 billion this year, helping to offset restrictions in Western markets.
But the African sea is not a virgin, or unlimited, territory. More than half of the stocks, from the Strait of Gibraltar to the mouth of the Congo River, are biologically unsustainable, according to figures from the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization. Destructive trawling, overfishing, and massive extraction of young species threaten food security and the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of local fishermen.
The arrival of the Russian fleet, part of which escapes international controls, revives these concerns.
Steve Trent, CEO of the Environmental Justice Foundation, an NGO working to expose environmental abuses and human rights violations in the fishing sector, told Bloomberg.
But the Russian temptation is too strong for many African states.
