The Gulf of Guinea ( French: ''Golfe de Guinée'';

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

: ''Golfo de Guinea''; Portuguese: ''Golfo da Guiné'') is the northeasternmost part of the tropical

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

from

Cape Lopez Cape Lopez () is a headland on the coast of Gabon, west central Africa. The westernmost point of Gabon, it separates the Gulf of Guinea from the South Atlantic Ocean. Cape Lopez is the northernmost point of a low, wooded island between two mouths ...

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

, north and west to

Cape Palmas Cape Palmas is a headland on the extreme southeast end of the coast of Liberia, Africa, at the extreme southwest corner of the northern half of the continent. The Cape itself consists of a small, rocky peninsula connected to the mainland by a san ...

Liberia Liberia, officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to Guinea–Liberia border, its north, Ivory Coast to Ivory Coast–Lib ...

. Null Island, defined as the intersection of the

Equator The equator is the circle of latitude that divides Earth into the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Southern Hemisphere, Southern Hemispheres of Earth, hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, about in circumferen ...

and

Prime Meridian A prime meridian is an arbitrarily chosen meridian (geography), meridian (a line of longitude) in a geographic coordinate system at which longitude is defined to be 0°. On a spheroid, a prime meridian and its anti-meridian (the 180th meridian ...

(zero degrees

latitude In geography, latitude is a geographic coordinate system, geographic coordinate that specifies the north-south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from −90° at t ...

and

longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east- west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek lett ...

), is in the gulf. Among the many rivers that drain into the Gulf of Guinea are the

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

and the Volta. The coastline on the gulf includes the

Bight of Benin The Bight of Benin, or Bay of Benin, is a bight in the Gulf of Guinea area on the western African coast that derives its name from the historical Kingdom of Benin. Geography The Bight of Benin was named after the Kingdom of Benin. It extends ea ...

and the Bight of Bonny.

Name

"Guinea" is thought to have originated from a local name for an area in the region, although the specifics are disputed. Bovill (1995) gives a thorough description: The name "

Guinea Guinea, officially the Republic of Guinea, is a coastal country in West Africa. It borders the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Guinea-Bissau to the northwest, Senegal to the north, Mali to the northeast, Côte d'Ivoire to the southeast, and Sier ...

" was also previously applied to the south coast of

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

(north of the Gulf of Guinea), which became known as "Upper Guinea", and to the west coast of

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and ...

(to the east), which became known as "Lower Guinea". Today, the word "Guinea" is found in the names of three countries in Africa (

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau, officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, is a country in West Africa that covers with an estimated population of 2,026,778. It borders Senegal to Guinea-Bissau–Senegal border, its north and Guinea to Guinea–Guinea-Bissau b ...

, and

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...

), and in one country in

Melanesia Melanesia (, ) is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It extends from New Guinea in the west to the Fiji Islands in the east, and includes the Arafura Sea. The region includes the four independent countries of Fiji, Vanu ...

(

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

Geography

The main river dispensing its waters in the gulf is the

Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mali, Nige ...

. Different definitions of the geographic limits of the Gulf of Guinea are given; the

International Hydrographic Organization The International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) (French: ''Organisation Hydrographique Internationale'') is an intergovernmental organization representing hydrography. the IHO comprised 102 member states. A principal aim of the IHO is to ...

defines the southwest extent of the Gulf of Guinea as "B line from Cap Lopez (), in Gabon, northwestward to Ihléu Gago Coutinho (Ilhéu das Rôlas) (); and thence a line from Ihléu Gago Coutinho northwestward to Cape Palmas (), in Liberia. File:Carte du golfe de Guinée-18e s..jpg, Old French map of the Gulf of Guinea File:Limites du golfe de Guinée-fr.svg, Different limits of the Gulf of Guinea File:Gulf of Guinea 5.24136E 2.58756N.jpg,

Satellite imagery Satellite images (also Earth observation imagery, spaceborne photography, or simply satellite photo) are images of Earth collected by imaging satellites operated by governments and businesses around the world. Satellite imaging companies sell im ...

of the Gulf of Guinea showing borders of states on its shores

Islands in the Gulf of Guinea

The Gulf of Guinea contains a number of islands, the largest of which are in a southwest-northeast chain, forming part of the

Cameroon line The Cameroon line (, , ) is a long chain of volcanoes that includes islands in the Gulf of Guinea and mountains on the African mainland, from Mount Cameroon on the coast towards Lake Chad on the northeast. They form a natural border between ea ...

of volcanoes.

Annobón Annobón (; ) is a province of Equatorial Guinea. The province consists of the island of Annobón and its associated islets in the Gulf of Guinea. Annobón is the smallest province of Equatorial Guinea in both area and population. According t ...

, also known as Pagalu or Pigalua, is an island that is part of

Bobowasi Island Bobowasi Island is an island in Ghana Ghana, officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It is situated along the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, and shares borders with Côte d’Ivoire to the west, ...

is an island off the west coast of Africa in the Gulf of Guinea that is part of the Western Region of Ghana.

Bioko Bioko (; ; ; historically known as Fernando Pó, ) is an island of Equatorial Guinea. It is located south of the coast of Cameroon, and northwest of the northernmost part of mainland Equatorial Guinea. Malabo, on the north coast of the is ...

is an

island An island or isle is a piece of land, distinct from a continent, completely surrounded by water. There are continental islands, which were formed by being split from a continent by plate tectonics, and oceanic islands, which have never been ...

off the Ambazonian region of Cameroon in the Gulf of Guinea under the sovereignty of Equatorial Guinea.

Corisco Corisco, Mandj, or Mandyi, is a small island of Equatorial Guinea, located southwest of the Río Muni estuary that defines the border with Gabon. Corisco, whose name derives from the Portuguese word for lightning, has an area of , and its highe ...

is an island belonging to Equatorial Guinea, as are the two small islands of

Elobey Grande Elobey Grande, or Great Elobey, is an island of Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea ...

and

Elobey Chico Elobey Chico, or Little Elobey, is a small island off the coast of Equatorial Guinea, lying 6.5 km from the mouth of the Mitémélé River. The island is now uninhabited but was once the ''de facto'' colonial capital of the Spanish territory ...

São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is an island country in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. It consists of two archipelagos around the two main isla ...

(officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe) is a Portuguese-speaking

island nation An island country, island state, or island nation is a country whose primary territory consists of one or more islands or parts of islands. Approximately 25% of all independent countries are island countries. Island countries are historically ...

in the Gulf of Guinea that became independent from

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

in 1975. It is located off the western equatorial coast of Africa and consists of two islands,

São Tomé São Tomé is the capital and largest city of the Central African island country of São Tomé and Príncipe. Its name is Portuguese for " Saint Thomas". Founded in the 15th century, it is one of Africa's oldest colonial cities. History Álv ...

and

Príncipe Príncipe (; ) is the smaller, northern major island of the country of São Tomé and Príncipe lying off the west coast of Africa in the Gulf of Guinea. It has an area of (including offshore islets) and a population of 7,324 at the 2012 Cens ...

. They are located about apart and about , respectively, off the northwestern coast of

. Both islands are part of an

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

volcanic A volcano is commonly defined as a vent or fissure in the crust of a planetary-mass object, such as Earth, that allows hot lava, volcanic ash, and gases to escape from a magma chamber below the surface. On Earth, volcanoes are most often fo ...

mountain range A mountain range or hill range is a series of mountains or hills arranged in a line and connected by high ground. A mountain system or mountain belt is a group of mountain ranges with similarity in form, structure, and alignment that have aris ...

. São Tomé, the sizeable southern island, is situated just north of the

Maritime security

Maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea consists of 18 sovereign states. Where most of the maritime security issues in the Gulf of Guinea have terrible consequences for the shipping industry. Multiple institutional mandates address maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea: the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS). Additionally, maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea is also addressed by the Gulf of Guinea Commission (GGC). There has been a 60% population growth in the Gulf of Guinea since 2000, which consequently leads people to resort to hijacking, kidnapping, robberies, and more due to food shortages. Climate change has become a huge problem in the Gulf of Guinea and as a consequence has different Maritime security issues become more pressing. These maritime security crimes are characterized not only by piracy but by a myriad of maritime crimes despite piracy often dominating the conversation on maritime security. The other notable crimes in the Gulf of Guinea are illegal fishing, kidnapping for ransom, drug trafficking, and oil-bunkering.Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. (2018). Gulf of Guinea Maritime Security Programme, 2019-2021. Copenhagen: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark. Illegal oil-bunkering consists of the attacking of vessels transporting oil and transferring the oil to the thieves’ own vessel, after which the oil is sold in local and international markets. Illegal oil bunkering at sea is mainly prevalent in the Nigerian waters. Kidnapping for ransom is also one of the most prevalent maritime crimes in the region. Between 2018 and 2019, the number of crew members that were kidnapped in the Gulf of Guinea increased by 50%, leading the region to account for 90% of global kidnappings at sea. About 92% of the hostage-taking and 73% of kidnappings happening in and around Africa are happening in the Gulf of Guinea. There is also a large issue of drug trafficking in the Gulf of Guinea and the region has over the last few years become a haven for drug trafficking mainly from South America into Europe.

Illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing

IUU fishing also known as

Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing (IUU) is an issue around the world. Fishing industry observers believe IUU occurs in most fisheries, and accounts for up to 30% of total catches in some important fisheries. Illegal fishing takes p ...

has become a severe problem in the Gulf of Guinea. In 2000 were there reports of 212,800 tons of fish caught and in 2012, this number increased by 9 percent to 232,200 tons. IUU consequently creates spillover problems to the social, economic, and environmental life in the Gulf of Guinea. It presents a direct threat to the national security of the coastal states in the Gulf of Guinea. IUU has been linked to multiple issues and forms of organized crime. Some of these crimes are arms trafficking, drug smuggling, forced labor,

piracy Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and valuable goods, or taking hostages. Those who conduct acts of piracy are call ...

and more. IUU depletes fish stocks in the area and causes issues for fishermen and the local population

food security Food security is the state of having reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, healthy Human food, food. The availability of food for people of any class, gender, ethnicity, or religion is another element of food protection. Simila ...

. One of the main issues of IUU is that a lot of the fish that is caught in the Gulf of Guinea is fish that is unreported when caught. This causes overfishing and overfishing causes depleting fisheries all around the region. IUU fishing also becomes a severe issue in the region because it allows fishermen to fish in vessels that are not nationally regulated or managed. Furthermore, can these vessels threaten people's human security due to poor working conditions and poorly regulated boats? Many of the IUU fishing boats are old, rusty, and often in poor condition. Both small-scale and large-scale fisheries often do illegal fishing in the Gulf of Guinea In the Gulf of Guinea can we see severe blue crime spillover effects of IUU through both piracy and human trafficking. Economic activity in the Gulf of Guinea has given rise to maritime piracy in the region. It is evident that in the Gulf of Guinea is there more piracy,

forced labor Forced labour, or unfree labour, is any work relation, especially in modern or early modern history, in which people are employed against their will with the threat of destitution, detention, or violence, including death or other forms of ...

and

human trafficking Human trafficking is the act of recruiting, transporting, transferring, harboring, or receiving individuals through force, fraud, or coercion for the purpose of exploitation. This exploitation may include forced labor, sexual slavery, or oth ...

as a consequence of IUU fishing, depleting fish stock and large competition of resources and food.

Further Blue Crime Consequences of IUU

There have been many reports of forced labor at sea in the Gulf of Guinea on illegal fishing boats. The EJF reports that through their studies they found that some fishermen and immigrant workers have been forced to work on fishing boats in the Gulf of Guinea for months at a time without access to land. Some of these workers were deployed to sea each day in canoes and in the night where they were forced to return to the mother ship to unload fish. Many illegal fishing boats have operated like such for many years and the workers are often contracted for two years at a time, with no chance to visit home or at times even land in general. Many workers are paid in boxes of what the EJF called "trash fish" -caught as by-catch- and then the way they would earn money was to further sell this fish. Other reports of forced labor on illegal fishing boats report poor and non-existent safety equipment. Little to no hygiene standards, poor accommodation standards, and very little food. Even though piracy in the Gulf of Guinea has dropped since its peak in 2020, is it still a pressing issue in the region. Many pirate groups in the Gulf of Guinea often recruit unemployed and underemployed fishermen. This has become highly lucrative due to poor wages and little to no money going around. Often have these local fishermen been lured into the prospect of quick easy money and as a result sold their fishing boats to other pirates in the Gulf. Depleting fishing stocks encourages fishermen to engage in piracy and more violence in the region is occurring.

References

External links

The Gulf of Guinea Commission – CGG – GGC
() {{Authority control Bodies of water of Benin Bodies of water of Cameroon Bodies of water of Equatorial Guinea Bodies of water of Gabon Bodies of water of Ghana Bodies of water of Nigeria Bodies of water of Togo

Tropical Atlantic