The Two Oceans Aquarium recently looked at the issue of overfishing in South Africa, and the world in general. We now turn our focus further up the African continent, to where its western waters are being emptied…
Having plundered their own local fish stocks, fishing fleets from regions in Russia, Asia and the Mediterranean have moved into waters off the coast of West Africa, an area which has already been subject to overfishing for many years. By ravaging the fish stocks there, these foreign industries are now threatening the livelihoods of local fisherman in countries like Senegal, a plight which environmental organisation Greenpeace Africa plans to expose in coming weeks.
A Greenpeace vessel called the Arctic Sunrise recently docked in Dakar, and was welcomed by more than 50 local fishermen desperate to combat this problem. The ship will sail this region of West Africa and document the issue, and hopefully draw the world’s attention to it in the process.
According to the Ministry of Maritime Economy in Senegal, fishing is one of the country’s main economic activities. In 2009, it constituted 13% of Senegalese exports and 1.7% of GDP, while statistics from Greenpeace indicate that it accounts for the livelihood of about 1-million people, including fishermen, processors, wholesalers, carriers, and vendors – all of whom are threatened with unemployment if rampant overfishing persists.
In April 2011, small-scale Senegalese fisheries entered into heated disputes with government over the issuing of licences to foreign trawlers, allowing them access to local waters. According to IPSnews, these protests were led by the Senegalese Association of Fishing Companies and Ship Owners, whose members demanded that 22 licences awarded to trawlers from Russia, Belize, Mauritius, Ukraine and the Comores were revoked.
Captain Matar Sambou, head of monitoring and control of fishing in the country, was quoted as saying, “At the beginning of March 2011, we signed fishing agreements with 11 or 12 fishing boats for a two-month period.”
>According to Greenpeace Africa, European fishing vessels have the capacity to fish two to three times more than the sustainable level, which is why Europe accounts for one of the highest overfishing rates in the world. In 2010, it was reported that 88% of European fish stocks were in a very poor state.
During their last visit to West Africa in 2010, Greenpeace officials documented 126 fishing vessels (excluding canoes and pirogues) and four reefers (a refrigerated ship normally used for transporting fish) operating off the coast of Senegal. Of the 93 foreign vessels they recorded, 61 were from the European Union.
As part of their campaign in the area in the next few weeks, Oceans Campaigner at Greenpeace Africa, Raoul Monsembula, says the organisation “calls for the establishment of a sustainable, low-impact fisheries policy that would take into account the needs and interests of small-scale fishermen and the local communities that depend on healthy oceans.”
What can you do?
The Senegalese elections are scheduled for the end of February, making this the perfect time to put pressure on the country’s future leaders. Visit the Greenpeace Africa website and sign up. You’ll be adding your voice to the call for fairer fisheries, making leaders aware of how important sustainable fisheries are.
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