{
  "id": 7618098,
  "title": "Report links fishmeal production to decline in key species for Guinea-Bissau communities",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/15/report-links-fishmeal-production-to-decline-in-key-species-for-guinea",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-15T19:23:47.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Mongabay",
    "slug": "mongabay",
    "url": "https://news.mongabay.com/short-article/2026/09/report-links-fishmeal-production-to-decline-in-key-species-for-guinea-bissau-communities/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A report by the investigative news organization OCCRP has linked the decline of sardinella, a protein-rich fish key to West African communities, to industrial fishing for two specific sardinella species used in fishmeal production. Guinea-Bissau, a West African nation, relies on sardinella for both human consumption and livestock feed. However, fisheries assessments reveal a significant reduction in sardinella stocks, coinciding with the arrival of Chinese fishmeal factories and Turkish fishing boats off the coast. Josef Skrdlik, co-author of the OCCRP report, suggests that the decline is primarily due to the large-scale fishing operations of these factories, which exported around 350,000 tons of fishmeal between 2013 and 2025.",
  "summary": "Populations of sardinella, an important protein-rich fish, are in rapid decline in the waters off Guinea-Bissau in West Africa. The decline appears to be related to industrial fishing for two species of sardinella used to make fishmeal, according to a report by investigative news organization OCCRP. In Guinea-Bissau, fish like the Madeiran sardinella (Sardinella maderensis) […]",
  "key_points": [
    "Decline of sardinella linked to fishmeal production",
    "Guinea-Bissau depends on sardinella for food and feed",
    "Chinese factories and Turkish boats blamed for reduction"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}