The new power in Dakar is determined to clean up the process of granting fishing licenses, a process plagued by influence peddling and bribery. Thus, the Ministry of Fisheries, Maritime and Port Infrastructure has just published the list of vessels authorized to make catches in the country’s Exclusive Economic Zone. Things are shaking in the sector, especially among all those who serve as “straw men” for foreign operators.
The updating of the list of vessels authorized to fish in the country’s territorial waters does not take into account « the files which are being renewed », specify the authorities. The list includes 19 foreign ships, 132 Senegalese ships as well as more than 17,400 artisanal canoes.
“This act responds to the principle of transparency in the management of natural resources which constitute a national heritage,” indicated Fatou Diouf, Minister of Fisheries and Maritime Infrastructure.
While this first decision was welcomed by several environmental organizations and fishing groups, the approach also raises questions. According to observers, the said list remains unclear on the identity of the owners of national vessels while the various investigations carried out in recent years reveal that the majority of boats registered as Senegalese are in reality owned by foreign operators keen to preserve their operations in a global context of tensions.
Also read – Africa: The AfDB will support projects in fourteen municipalities and local authorities
Indeed, access agreements to Senegalese waters have become a sensitive subject over the decades with the overexploitation of small pelagic fish by foreign fleets regularly singled out by local fishermen as well as environmental organizations such as Greenpeace.
There is also criticism of the trawling practices of certain Chinese and European vessels, which lead not only to a reduction in resources for artisanal fishermen but also to a reduction in the availability of fish on local markets for populations who depend 70% on fishing. fish for animal protein intake.
While President Bassirou Diomaye Faye had announced a reassessment of fishing agreements, one of the main projects will be the management by the end of the year of the expiration next November of the protocol in force since 2019 with the Union European.
