Illegal fishing: Mauritania
Mauritania's Atlantic waters are among the richest fishing grounds in the world, and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing drains a coastal economy that depends on them while undermining sovereignty over a vast exclusive economic zone. The theft happens far beyond the horizon, out of sight of any shore.
The theft happens beyond the horizon
Foreign and unlicensed vessels exploit the distance between Mauritania's coast and the edge of its EEZ, working where no patrol boat routinely reaches. Persistent satellite surveillance detects and tracks vessels across the whole zone, satellite-based fish detection helps distinguish legitimate from illegitimate activity, and aerial ISR closes on specific contacts to build a prosecutable picture. Together they give maritime authorities the evidence to intercept offenders without depending on a major power's data feed.
A resource the economy cannot afford to lose
Fisheries are a cornerstone of Mauritania's economy and food supply, so unchecked IUU fishing is a direct loss of national revenue and livelihoods. The problem compounds with EEZ and coastal surveillance more broadly, since the same distant waters host smuggling and trafficking. A persistent wide-area picture lets Mauritania protect the resource and run a fisheries watch that stands up in court rather than relying on chance encounters at sea.
How engagement works in Mauritania
Unstrat engages as an independent, non-aligned prime vendor: direct representation, end-use certified, one accountable team, sustainment in-region. The satellites, fish detection and drones come from makers with no political agenda, so the maritime picture stays under Mauritanian control with no foreign feed in the loop. We would begin with a baseline over the most exploited grounds and build toward a self-run fisheries watch Mauritanian crews operate. Book a briefing to scope it.
Building a fisheries watch that holds up in court
The engagement begins with a briefing that reads Mauritania's Atlantic zone as it is fished, among the richest grounds in the world, where unlicensed vessels work the distance between the coast and the EEZ edge. Export-control and end-use approvals are confirmed before any representation, so the accountable channel operates on cleared terms with no foreign feed in the loop. We match satellite surveillance, satellite-based fish detection and aerial ISR to the real grounds and how enforcement crews build a case, then phase the build so a baseline over the most exploited grounds comes first and Mauritanian crews take over a self-directed watch across the zone. Localisation arrangements are scoped per programme, subject to export controls and end-use approvals, and the advantage is a prosecutable picture that protects the resource and the sovereignty over it.
Relevant capability
Adjacent priorities in Mauritania
Mauritania's Atlantic coastline fronts one of the world's richest fishing zones and busy offshore approaches, yet coastal radar reaches only so far and the gaps between stations are exploited daily. Extending the maritime picture from the beach to the edge of the EEZ is essential to protecting the resource and the coast.
Problem pageMauritania's Atlantic coast carries the fishing traffic and offshore commerce its economy depends on, and armed robbery at sea and piracy raise insurance costs, deter shipping and endanger seafarers. Protecting the sea lanes and the fishing fleet means detecting threats early across a wide maritime zone.
Problem pageContraband, fuel and untaxed goods cross Mauritania's borders wherever surveillance is thinnest: the eastern desert frontiers toward Mali and Algeria and the routes along the coast, draining customs revenue across a territory too large to patrol. The traffic moves precisely through the ground no one is watching.
Problem pageRelevant solutions
Mauritania: security context
Mauritania's priorities span sea and desert: protecting its exclusive economic zone and fisheries, watching remote land borders, and securing mining regions far from the centre. It is an environment defined by distance, where awareness must reach places that are hard to hold.
An accountable single-channel engagement gives Mauritania a coherent counterpart for that reach, EEZ and fisheries protection, desert border surveillance and mining-region security, with disciplined export-control and end-user handling. A security agency gains end-use certified equipment and localisation arrangements scoped per programme, subject to export controls and end-use approvals.
About this challenge
Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing drains coastal economies and undermines sovereignty over the exclusive economic zone. Persistent satellite surveillance, satellite-data fisheries analytics and aerial ISR give maritime authorities the picture they need to intercept offenders, without depending on a major power's data feed.
Frequently asked questions
How does satellite surveillance help protect Mauritania's fishing grounds?
It detects and tracks vessels across the entire EEZ, including waters no patrol boat routinely reaches, and cues aerial ISR to build a prosecutable picture of specific offenders. That turns a vast, unwatched zone into a monitored one. A briefing can identify the priority grounds.
Does a fisheries watch depend on a foreign power's data feed?
No. The satellites, fish-detection analytics and drones come from independent, non-aligned makers, and the picture is tasked and retained nationally, so Mauritania is not dependent on anyone else's feed. A briefing can walk through the sovereignty model.
Can the same maritime picture serve more than fisheries protection?
Yes. The same wide-area coverage that catches illegal fishing also reveals smuggling and trafficking in the same waters, so one picture serves several maritime missions. We can scope that overlap in a briefing.