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afrol News, 23 May - After the European Union lost its fishing rights in Senegal earlier this year, continuous negotiations have brought no results. Senegal wants a deal that is sustainable to its fish resources and its own fisheries and wants to charge the EU for fishing in its waters. The Senegalese Fisheries Minister Cheikh Saadibou already in February banned all EU vessels - mostly Spanish and French - from fishing in Senegalese waters after the negotiations over a renewal of the 1997 fishing rights accord had broken down. The Minister said the ban on EU vessels would stay in place until an agreement is reached with the Union. The signing of a new agreement has been delayed several times as neither side has been able to agree on the conditions of a biological ban and the Senegalese government has been reluctant to sign until what it calls “irresponsible fishing practices, which deplete resources and threaten the livelihoods of nationals” are resolved. - We think that now there is no fish in the sea and Senegal has to settle up politics which take care of that situation, Minister Saadibou was yesterday quoted by the BBC as saying. "We think that the European Union has to help Senegal to settle up the responsible politics of preserving particularly short resources," he added. According to various West African officials, over-fishing of African waters by EU trawlers is posing a threat to both the livelihoods and even the lives of local fishermen. Environmental organisations agree and claim that the EU fishermen also pose a threat to the fish stocks in Senegalese waters. The EU had wanted to raise its catch by 60 percent. Further, illegal vessels - both local and Europeans - exploit the limited monitoring capacity of West African coastguards. These big vessels, in addition to their illegal over-fishing - also are threat to local fishermen as they mostly turn their lights off at night, causing deadly collisions with the small local boats.
Local fishermen now also have to travel up to ten times further off the coast to be able to catch fish, according to reports from Dakar. Fishing in small, local vessels therefore has become more risky and turnout has gradually declined. Locals blame it on over-fishing by foreign vessels. Also the local fishery industry has been suffering from the reduced landing of fish by Senegalese fishermen. Tuna canned in Senegal is an export article, which has declined in number. EU vessels ship their catches directly to their home country for processing. The (temporary) ban on EU vessels has been welcomed in Senegal although it will mean significant short term revenue losses for the government. The EU used to have 120 vessels authorised to operate in Senegalese domestic waters in accordance with the 1997-2001 fisheries protocol. In contrast to this Senegal possesses 12,000 small coastal boats, each manned by 5 or 6 persons. The Senegalese industrial fleet consists of 170 vessels which have an average age of 20 years. Sardinelle and tuna are the main species in the industrial catches.
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