I started fishing in my childhood. I remember, back in the days, when my father used to catch very large fish and bring them home. But those days are long gone.
Fishing in Senegal
Our parents had it a lot easier. These days we hardly find fish to catch. I started with angling. We all used to angle before fish became scarce and then we resorted to weaving nets. We buy rolls of yarn and mesh them into nets.
We go fishing in the morning at 6 a.m and return around 7 p.m. There are some that stay longer but my group and I don’t have canoes big enough to stay out at sea for too long.
Impact of industrial fleets on fishing
The impact is massive. They can throw their huge nets in the sea and drain the oceans for miles, picking up everything in their path. Their presence here does not delight any Senegalese. They catch the small fish that we need just to feed them to bigger fish we do not have access to. Under normal circumstances, the large fish would, in trying to catch smaller fish, chase them all the way to the low seas where small-scale fishermen like me can catch them; but the fleets have changed the narrative.
Our largest canoes would struggle to catch one ton of fish a day whereas these fleets, without any real effort, can catch a thousand tons.
We have no relationship with the fleets, other than reaching out to them when they break our nets, if we manage to find their contact, for compensation. If we are unable to reach out to them, we lose.
The way forward
The government must stand up for us. These boats have licences and there is not much we can do about that. Only the government can act. I hear that the Mauritania government regulated access to its coast, but not the Senegalese. When we try to go to Mauritania to fish, we are hounded. Our government must do more in terms of regulation. These fleets sign contracts with the government to catch specific fish whilst in reality they catch everything.
The government must halt the contract with foreign fleets. Small-scale and industrial fishing cannot be compared. We simply cannot compete.
Steps taken
In their defence, the government has taken some measures such as the creation of organic parks prohibiting fishing for six months, but they must do more.
We have embarked on protests to denounce the activities and exploitation of the fleets. There are also some NGOs that come to help.
We fight as a group. The people in this shelter where we are seated are groups of fishermen. We often meet here to talk about our problems. Sometimes we keep in touch over the phone.
Unionism
Our union helps us. The CLP is the most popular fishermen’s union. They fight when there is inflation in the price of equipment. They also engage in media activities in their effort to publicise our plight.
The government must stop the contract with foreign fleets. The government has taken measures such as the creation of organic parks prohibiting fishing for 6 months.
We have no relationship with foreign fleets, as soon as they cut our nets and if one manages to have their number we can claim our due, otherwise we lose. Small-scale and industrial fishing cannot be compared.
Socioeconomic situation in Bargny
Bargny is a fishing village. The village used to be made up of fishermen and farmers but there are no longer any arable lands so the farmers are gone. The sea is all we have left.
The kids go to school at the start, but later give up to go into fishing owing to lack of resources.
Migration
We migrate due to a lack of resources because we have to offer financial assistance to our parents and families.