Recently elected, the Senegalese president promised to re-evaluate existing fishing agreements, including that with the European Union, to re-establish sovereignty.
The European Union ambassador to Senegal assured Wednesday that European boats had a minimal impact on the fishing sector in this country where foreign vessels are accused of precariousness for artisanal fishermen.
The controversy over the role of foreign fishing in the crisis of an important sector in Senegal was rekindled with the recent election as president of Bassirou Diomaye Faye.
Bassirou Diomaye Faye, invested in April, promised to reassess existing fishing agreements, including the one with the European Union, to restore sovereignty that he considers to have been sold off in this area and others.
The Ministry of Fisheries broke Monday with the opacity that has long characterized the sector by publishing a list of vessels authorized to fish in Senegalese waters. It lists 132 industrial vessels flying the Senegalese flag, 19 European ones and more than 17,400 artisanal canoes.
The agreement in force since 2019 between the European Union and Senegal “represents less than 1% of fishing in Senegal”, declared the EU ambassador to Senegal, Jean-Marc Pisani, during a conference press release on the EU-Senegal partnership.
A new agreement to negotiate
This agreement expires in November and must give rise to an evaluation by the Europeans before the opening of new negotiations with the Senegalese side.
The diplomat recognized that this agreement gave rise to “many different perceptions” in Senegal. But, he added, “the European Union has nothing to hide. The Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement is public, transparent and available.”
The approximately 50,000 Senegalese fishermen work mainly on traditional canoes. They are faced with competition from foreign, Chinese, European or Russian factory boats, to which they readily blame the scarcity of fish.
European fishermen “are authorized to fish a quota of 10,000 tonnes (per year) under the fishing agreement. They fish 3,000 (while) the total catch in Senegal is 400,000 tonnes per year”, assured Mr. Pisani. The agreement is supervised by European and Senegalese scientists who evaluate the resource, and the Europeans only fish surplus stocks and only two varieties that the Senegalese do not fish, tuna and black hake, he said.
Fishing directly or indirectly supports around 600,000 Senegalese for a population of around 18 million, according to the UN.
