West African communities facing crisis as fishing industry under strain
By Janina Eddy
In recent years, the fishing industry across West Africa has been enduring a monumental crisis.
Speaking at the United Nations World Oceans Conference in June, Gambian activist Mustapha Manneh urged global attention to the collapse of traditional fisheries in the region, an outcome deeply connected to the neocolonial patterns of over-exploitation.
Industrial fishmeal and diverted resources
Foreign fleets are increasingly targeting smaller farmed species native to the West African waters, such sardines and bonga, not for local markets but for the production of fishmeal and fish oil destined for aquaculture industries abroad.
These species, once a staple for food security in coastal communities, are now being extracted in unsustainable volumes, leaving entire populations economically and nutritionally vulnerable.
Hundreds of families have lost their only source of income.
Impacts on traditional fisheries and West African communities
Traditional fishermen, who once needed small quantities of fuel to make their daily catches, must now undergo multi-day expeditions and match cost of their fuel that has at least tripled, often leaving them unable to feed their own families. Manneh points out:
“The fishermen can no longer bring home enough fish to feed their families and face ever-increasing fuel costs,” said Mr. Manneh. “Whereas they used to be able to catch large quantities of fish in a shorter time, using only 20 liters of diesel, they now have to stay away longer to ensure a sufficient catch, and the amount of fuel required has at least tripled.”
Meanwhile, the women in local markets, who traditionally processed and sold coastal catches, now have seen their livelihoods disappear before their eyes as catches diminish and supply chains collapse.
Foreign fleets and questionable agreements
In countries such as Gambia and Guinea-Bissau, there has been significant presence of industrial boats from foreign nations, reducing the availability to catch fish for the local communities and exacerbating the crisis.
Trawling in prohibited zones, often under the agreements that offer minimal compensation to the host countries, these vessels unequally deplete the fish stocks and damages the health of the ecosystem.
Mr. Manneh highlighted the 2019 EU fishing protocol, which allowed foreign vessels to enter local waters while Gambia’s coastal population gained little benefit.
“This protocol stipulated that vessels from Spain, Greece, and France could fish in Gambian territorial waters for an annual fee of �550,000, a fee that was intended, among other things, to finance measures to protect the marine ecosystem,” he said.
Migration crisis and the call for justice
As fish stocks dwindle, many coastal residents feel forced to undertake perilous journeys towards Europe, often through the Canary Islands, in search for survival.
Mr. Manneh and other local leaders emphasize that these conditions stimulate not only poverty but also despair and displacement.
The Church has often called for every person to enjoy the right to remain in their homeland, supported by just structures and dignified work.
In his Message for the 2023 World Day of Migrants and Refugees, 杏MAP导航 Francis said everyone should be “free to choose whether to migrate or to stay.”
“Even as we work to ensure that in every case migration is the fruit of a free decision, we are called to show maximum respect for the dignity of each migrant,” said the late 杏MAP导航.
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