The GI-TOC congratulates Lourdes Fourtes winning Cabo Verde’s 2025 national journalism award! The investigative article that won the prize – ‘Cape Verde without an IUU fishing register, but reality may be different’ – analyzed the dynamics of IUU fishing in Cabo Verde’s vast exclusive economic zone, exploring how data collection and dissemination by authorities can support better tracking of the phenomenon.
This investigation was developed as part of a mentorship scheme supported by the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime (GI-TOC), in collaboration with CENOZO (Norbert Zongo Cell for Investigative Journalism in West Africa), and Poseidon, a global fisheries and aquaculture consultancy. This was part of a wider program which included capacity building supported by the U.S. Department of State supporting journalists from Cabo Verde, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Mauritania, Guinea and Senegal to investigate three key criminal markets with particularly devastating impacts throughout West Africa: human trafficking, illegal fishing, and the illegal trade in wildlife and forestry products.
Illicit economies and organized crime pose a significant challenge to development worldwide – and West Africa is no exception. IUU fishing – perpetrated by both artisanal fishermen and industrial fishing fleets – is devastating West Africa’s coastal fish stocks and marine ecosystems, leaving many coastal communities without livelihoods or sufficient food. Investigative journalists like Lourdes – through their ability to shine a light on criminal dynamics and galvanize a response from communities and policymakers – must be key elements of the solution.
