1. Skip to content
  2. Skip to main menu
  3. Skip to more DW sites
Live TV
Latest audioLatest videos
In focus
India electionsIranIsrael-Hamas war
Nature and Environment

Mafia on the High Seas

July 1, 2021

Every fifth fish caught in the sea is fished by illegal fleets. This is a scandal with serious consequences for the entire marine ecosystem.

https://p.dw.com/p/3vsWB
Barentssee Fang von Kabeljau
Image: Getty Images/AFP/M. Mochet

Species are threatened with extinction, as mafia-like companies are often behind the illegal fishing.

Deutschland Japan Paul Watson Tierschützer von der Organisation Sea Shepherd
Paul Watson, Founder of the NGO Sea ShepherdImage: dapd


Paul Watson is the founder of the non-governmental organization Sea Shepherd, which fights the exploitation of marine life. He warns, "If the sea dies, we die." With its ships, Sea Shepherd regularly tries to track down illegal fishing fleets and prevent them from carrying out their illegal activities.

Indonesien Kampf gegen illegalen Fischfang
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/W. Pasaribu


But behind this kind of illegal fishing are groups organized like mafias. After all, this business at sea is as lucrative as the drug trade. The people involved are often victims: Sailors from Burma, Thailand and Cambodia who work up to 22 hours a day on ageing boats. They are modern-day slaves who have no rights and work for very little pay. If they resist, there is nothing to stop the captain from sending them overboard into the water. Are the seas the new Wild West?

The film takes us to Spain, where Antonio Vidal, head of an illegal fishery, lives; to Indonesia, where the former fisheries minister waged a war against pirates; and to France, where Paul Watson currently resides.

Broadcasting Hours. 

DW English

WED 06.10.2021 – 01:15 UTC
WED 06.10.2021 – 04:15 UTC
WED 06.10.2021 – 18:15 UTC
THU 07.10.2021 – 09:15 UTC
SAT 09.10.2021 – 02:15 UTC
SUN 10.10.2021 – 08:15 UTC

Cape Town UTC +2 | Delhi UTC +5,5 | Hong Kong UTC +8
Lagos UTC +1 | Cape Town UTC +2 | Nairobi UTC +3 
San Francisco UTC -7 | Edmonton UTC -6 | New York UTC -4
London UTC +1 | Berlin UTC +2 | Moscow UTC +3

DW Deutsch+

THU 07.10.2021 – 09:15 UTC
SUN 10.10.2021 – 08:15 UTC 

Vancouver UTC -7 | New York UTC -4 | Sao Paulo UTC -3