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Holiday Season Magnifies Fish Shortage in Southern Senegal

   Little supply in the fish market has sent prices skyrocketing

   Ricci Shryock | Dakar 31 December 2009

Photo: AP

   A  woman  displays fish she has for sale at a market in Dakar, Senegal
   (file)

   Housewives  in  Senegal  say  a  shortage of fish has caused prices to
   nearly triple at the market.
   Boubacar Sambou is a fisherman in Southern Senegal, and he laments the
   shortage of fish in his local waterways.
   There  are  not  enough fish, he says as he points out to the Atlantic
   Ocean beyond his brightly colored pirogue.
   In  the  marketplace,  housewife  Mariama Goudiaby has trouble finding
   enough fish to buy for her family.
   She  says the little amount that is available at the market is getting
   more expensive.
   As  a  government  fishing  inspector in the area, Moustapha Coly says
   there are many explanations for the shortage.  At the end of the year,
   fishermen's  licenses  often run out, so they must get their paperwork
   renewed.   In  addition,  many  go  home to their families in northern
   Senegal to celebrate the holidays.
   But  the temporary spike in a fish shortage just puts the spotlight on
   a year-round problem for the West African region, he adds.
   Coly  says  in  the  past, the northern areas of Senegal were abundant
   with fish, but due to overfishing, the boats have now come south.
   Sambou  agrees  that  overfishing  is  a problem, but he says he still
   wants the state to alleviate restrictions it has put on fishing zones.
   He  says  the  fishermen pray that things will get better, but he adds
   they  also  pray that the state helps them.  Sambou wants the state to
   open  up  restricted  zones in the area and allow fishing in protected
   waters.
   Because  of  overfishing,  efforts  for  governments in West Africa to
   regulate  their  waters  have  increased recently.  The World Bank has
   initiated  the  West  Africa  Regional  Fisheries  Program, which is a
   $90-million  effort  to help the area's countries generate more wealth
   from  their  fishing  resources,  while  also  supporting  sustainable
   management.
   Of  the  $3 billion that is currently made from fishing in West Africa
   annually,  only  $571  million goes into building value in the fishing
   areas.
   The  housewife,  Goudiaby,  says she has heard one explanation for the
   shortage  of  fish  is because many fishermen are using their boats to
   transport illegal immigrants to Spain.  But Coly says only some of the
   captains are doing this, and it does not amount to many fishermen.
   As  Sambou sits by the shore, he looks out at the large fishing boats.
   Many  of  them will go to neighboring Guinea-Bissau or Guinea Conakry,
   he says, because there are no fish to be found in Senegal.
   "Where am I supposed to go to fish?" he asks.

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