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Spanish-owned trawler Chiquita, pictured fishing in the Gulf of Guinea in 2017 -Image © Pierre Gleizes / Greenpeace / FIS
Senegal’s fishing vessel list declared a ‘leap forward’ for transparency
SENEGAL
Monday, July 15, 2024, 01:00 (GMT + 9)
The following is an excerpt from an article published by Dialogue Earth:
The breakthrough list could shed light on fishing activity, hold authorities to account, and drive greater regional transparency
Artisanal seine-net fishing near Kafountine on Senegal’s coast. Some fishers want the government to investigate who ultimately owns each of the fishing boats registered in Senegal (Image © Clément Tardif / Greenpeace)
It starts with Acacia and ends with Yi Feng 16.
In May this year, Senegal’s newly appointed minister for fisheries, Fatou Diouf, released a list of vessels authorised to fish in the West African country’s waters.
On the surface this may seem a modest move, but transparency advocates who have long been demanding such a list say it is a huge win, which could catalyse reform of how fishing is managed along Senegal’s extensive coast and across the region.
“It has been a long journey, and we’re pleased about the new Senegalese government’s decision to publish the registry of licensed fishing vessels,” says Awa Traore, an international climate consultant and former Greenpeace ocean campaigner. “It’s a great leap forward for transparency in the country’s fisheries sector and the regional fisheries management.”
Campaigners such as Traore say a lack of transparency creates a vacuum in which negative aspects of the fisheries sector can flourish: overfishing; illegal, unreported and unregulated activity; misuse of subsidies; corruption. For the region to properly manage its marine resources, the sector must be less opaque, they believe.
While there have been nods to the need for change, who is catching what is still not public in many countries.
Senegal shows its hand
President Dimaye Faye, who took office in Senegal in April and appointed Diouf, has campaigned for total transparency in government. The list of 132 vessels registered in Senegal and authorised to fish in the country is an early move from his administration. Another list released alongside it details 17 boats and two support vessels registered in France and Spain and authorised to work in Senegal’s waters.
“This act responds to the principle of transparency in managing natural resources that constitute a national heritage,” said the government in a statement.
 The majority of Senegal’s 16.3 million people live near its coast, with fishing a significant employer. Senegal is a favourite spot for many boats targeting small pelagic fish, including bonga and sardinella. The industry supports some 600,000 people and is hugely important in fighting poverty in rural areas.
Fish play a crucial part in feeding local people, and in the local culture. The national dish is thieboudienne, a rice and fish creation inscribed on the UN cultural organisation Unesco’s Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list in 2021.
But the country’s resources have attracted trawlers from Asia and Europe. The expansion of fishing they brought coincided with the overexploitation of fish and climate change impacts. This has dealt huge blows to fisheries, and to those living in coastal communities.
 “The new government’s decision to publish the vessel register is commendable,” says Felix Conteh, who researches West African governance and policy from Lancaster University in the UK. “Not only does it deviate from the previous government’s reluctance to do so, it sets a baseline for us to hold them accountable.
“Whether or not other countries in the region will follow Senegal’s example is unclear, as much depends on their incentives and capacity issues.”
Conteh adds that Senegal’s move shows it is possible to take incremental steps towards transparency, rather than waiting to complete huge data-collection projects.
“I commend the Senegalese government for their transparency in releasing the list of registered fishing vessels. This action establishes a positive example for regional cooperation and sustainable fisheries management,” says Muhammed Hydara, secretary general of the Gambia Environmental Alliance. [Continues...]
Author: Mustafá Manneh | Dialogue Earth | Read the full article by clicking the link here
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