Fisheries anchor Senegal’s economy, food security and coastal employment — so the collapse of catches carries policy consequences far beyond the beach.
In the Lebou fishing village of Ngor, near Dakar, elders recall decades when the sea was so generous that fishermen out-earned civil servants and could target whichever species they chose. Today they take whatever they can find. Two forces are at work: intense overfishing — canoe numbers at one landing site have grown from about 20 to 150, alongside industrial vessels licensed to foreign fleets — and climate change. Researchers at Senegal’s agricultural research institute have tracked round sardinella, a dietary staple, shifting roughly 230 km northwards over three decades as surface waters warm, benefiting Morocco at Senegal’s expense. With up to 800,000 livelihoods tied to fishing and most animal protein coming from the sea, many young Lebou are now training for other trades.
Summary based on reporting by Frédéric Atayodi for the Climate Change Reporting Project (WAJA / Mano River Union CSO Platform).
Read the original at https://mrucsoplatform.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/senegal-fish-scarcity.pdf