Exploitation of the Sea - Ocean Grabbing

"Ocean grabbing“Describes the exploitation of the ocean's resources, often by foreign investors who buy parts of the country or the sea. The treasures of the sea are accessed in the process - this often deprives fishermen and local communities of access to resources. The livelihoods of many villages and their people - especially in less developed countries - are threatened by exploitation. But who owns the sea? The local fishermen? The financial traders? International markets? To those who need it the most? These questions are highlighted in a ZDF documentary “Who Owns the Ocean Grabbing”. There has been a dispute for some time now - between fishermen, industry, communities and the sea.

Fishermen against the environment:

In a controversial method to fish shrimp from the sea, nets with iron weights are made more difficult in Costa Rica and pulled along the seabed. According to the government, this fishing method is considered harmful because it damages plants on the seabed in the long term. But because, according to the fishermen, there are no corals or valuable flora and fauna in these areas, a possible ban is more likely to result in unemployment for the fishermen and loss of income for an entire village. The fishermen fight against environmentalists in order to continue living.

Tourism against fishermen:

The tourism industry in Sri Lanka is playing an increasingly important role. Germany is the third largest tourism group in Sri Lanka with 160,000 visitors in 2018. New hotels are being built and are part of the tourism zone, where fishermen are no longer allowed to fish. Although fishermen have built their lives in the area for many years, they are no longer allowed to enter the beaches that were bought for tourism - access routes to the beach are blocked and fishing licenses are only made difficult or not issued at all.