Senegal

There are fleets from Asia and the European Union. They, especially the Asian boats, take everything in their path. We have little contact with them except for occasional greetings.

I have friends who migrated in search of a better life. Some of them died en route. Others made it safely and some have returned due to difficulties encountered in the host countries, and even then, they are willing to go back.

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.

The big boats are causing us a lot of trouble. They don’t simply stop at cutting our nets; they even split canoes into two. Some fishermen have died in the process. It is really dangerous for us, especially at night.  

The problem is the government. They have prohibited us from fishing in fishing parks in Joal and Ngaparou at the pain of heavy fines. I have been the victim of such fines.

Fresh fish are rare because of European boats that prevent fish from coming to the coast. Before it was enough to spend six hours at sea to return but these days it is simply not feasible.

The foreign fleets cause us a lot of problems. They crush our canoes and cut our nets. As a result, we have to sleep with one eye open.

One fisherman and another non-fisherman may go to the port looking for a fishing licence and the authorities will decide to give the licence to the non-fisherman.

The boats take all the fish, especially the big ones. They come from different countries: Italy, Korea, Japan, China.