The New Boats (2022)
Directed by Lansana Mansaray (Barmmy Boy), 49 min
Thursday 6 April 2023
The New Boats is an investigative documentary that presents an eye-opening look at the impact of international industrialized fishing in West African waters and its disastrous effect on local communities at a critical point in Sierra Leone's history.
The village of Tombois one of the largest artisanal fishing ports in Sierra Leone - providing nearly 90% of the protein eaten in the country. Tombo had flourished in theFreetown Peninsula since pre-colonial times but in recent decades this prosperity has been on the decline due to an influx of Asian trawlers overfishing
on its shores with clandestine support from corrupt officials.
As a result, local fishermen ofall ages are frequently forced to abandon life in Tombo and migrate in search of work. The women of the village have also lost their traditional livelihood, processing the catch and selling at market. Sulaiman Kamara and other localfishermen are passionately advocating on behalf of Tombo, in a desperate attempt to prevent an environmental disaster with West African fisheries on the brink of collapse.