Developing countries are particularly vulnerable to IUU fishing, which accounts for up to 40% of the fish caught in West African waters. The resources of the Liberian Coast Guard to monitor, control and surveil all of Liberia’s sovereign waters are stretched. Sea Shepherd's mission is to assist them in identifying and arresting the unlicensed foreign industrial vessels operating in its waters, and to protect the six nautical miles closest to shore reserved for subsistence, artisanal and semi-artisanal fishing, an industry which employs 33,000 Liberians.