Overfishing in Senegal Is an Avoidable Tragedy
Tasting freshly caught fish cooked at outdoor eateries on Dakar’s Atlantic coastline was one of my favorite experiences during my nearly year-long stay in Senegal. In his 2016 Senegal episode of the Parts Unknown documentary, renowned chef Anthony Bourdain described having a similarly memorable moment during a dinner at a restaurant on a beach in Dakar. Yet, as domestic artisanal fishing in Senegal has been dwindling fast due to the predatory overfishing practices of international commercial fisheries, such experiences might not be available to enjoy by the end of this decade. As reported by fishery officials, it currently takes a pirogue over half a year to catch what it was catching in two months several years ago. It is a tragedy provoked by large companies and with dire environmental, economic, and social impacts, but it is not an inevitable situation.
Historically, fishing in West African settings was central to the economy and a family business involving intergenerational labor. Fishermen using small boats had ancestral knowledge of fish species and involved their entire families in the catching, processing, and commercialization of fish, making traditional fishing practices both sustainable and benefiting local communities. Today, off the coast of Senegal, traditional subsistence fishing is increasingly being replaced by international commercial fishing, employing large vessels in continuous fishing indiscriminate of fish types. Such endeavors are unsustainable, hurt communities, and have triggered a crisis.
According to Oceanographic Magazine, European vessels started fishing at high capacity in waters off the coast of West Africa in the 1950s. China then adopted high-capacity fishing practices in the area in the 1980s, with Chinese fishing vessels greatly increasing in number in the 21st century. This overexploitation of Senegal’s fish resources started being felt locally in the 1990s, although it was better understood after various reports were completed by the 2010s. Senegalese fishermen tried to keep up with the international industry by modernizing their pirogues, adding engines and iceboxes, or introducing nylon nets and purse seines, but they were unable to compete with the foreign fleets, and their modernization attempts only further increased the danger of fish depletion. Pressure from industrial fishing pushed artisanal fishermen to change their own practices towards less sustainable ones.
As a 2025 Pulitzer Center report specifies, “foreign trawlers are emptying the sea at the expense of local livelihoods.” Such ships fish in places where they are not supposed to and often catch fish that are not ready to be harvested. Frequently, the ships exhibit the Senegalese flag and are registered in Senegal, although their parent companies are based in France, Spain, or China, with the overwhelming majority of the fish caught through these enterprises being sold outside of Senegal. Within the European Union and in China, the fish caught in such areas as Dakar or Saint Louis in Senegal do not end up being consumed by humans but are rather utilized for meals for farmed salmon, pigs, or chicken.
Fishmeal production is a main cause of the “dwindling numbers of wild fish,” according to Sentient Media. This is a severe problem in Senegal and additional West African countries such as Ghana. Over 85 percent of all fishmeal produced goes to feeding farmed fish, whereas pigs eat another nearly 10 percent of the fishmeal. According to data from the trade organization Cesfac, in Spain alone piglets eat between 15,000 and 30,000 tonnes of fishmeal per year. Other countries around the globe have similar numbers regarding fishmeal consumption by livestock. Therefore, Senegal’s marine resources are being diverted away from local food systems toward international agricultural supply chains.
The consequences of aggressive fishing practices have been disastrous, Senegal’s fisheries being harvested far beyond sustainable levels. In 2012, researchers Carolyn DuBois and Christos Zografos found that 70 percent of Senegal’s catch was derived from already collapsed species or fully exploited ones. Today, most species of small fish such as sardine, sardinella, mackerel, anchovy, and bonga, long available around the coast of West Africa, are either fully exploited or overexploited. While artisanal fishing has always been pursued under capacity, “the industrial coastal demersal fleet had been operating at, on average, 51 percent overcapacity over an extended period of time.”
The human impacts of overfishing activities involving international commercial vessels include economic loss and financial hardship for local communities. As stated by former fisherman Moussa Diop, “the sea was sold,” because foreign trawlers pick every fish, including inappropriate ones, while local fishermen must go further and further away from the shore to catch smaller and smaller fish. Women laborers at a facility for drying and smoking yaboi fish in the small town of Kayar also noted that the fish supply had been plentiful until about a decade ago but subsequently faltered. These women’s work used to provide a reliable income that is now put at risk and an affordable food source that is being depleted.
Since fish are a large portion of the West African diet, exploiting wild fisheries mainly for animal feed not only “disturbs marine ecosystems” and generates “massive environmental pollution” but also takes away much-needed income from the communities of Senegal and drives food insecurity, according to Sentient Media. Moreover, international vessels often disregard or violate regulations imposed by national governments and international oversight entities, not only contributing to environmental degradation but also putting navigation safety at risk. On multiple occasions, large vessels owned by international companies have run into small boats with local fishermen, resulting in harm or even death.
Moreover, overfishing and illegal fishing by international businesses claiming to be based in Senegal but that are actually foreign have contributed to increased migration. As migration has become a vital coping strategy for many families in the coastal communities of most West African countries, including Senegal, tens of thousands of Senegalese people have undertaken dangerous journeys to France, Spain, and the Canary Islands. Such journeys have increased by 200 percent between 2022 and 2024. Migration can lead to the destabilization of local economies and societies in the countries from which there is out-migration as well as the ones to which there is in-migration.
While the situation is dire, there is still hope. Some bad news is that the Fisheries Transparency Initiative’s International Board has recently revoked Senegal’s status as a committed country, citing a lack of progress towards disclosing existing problems. However, if the public and private sectors work together, Senegal can help establish and enforce clear rules that would allow artisanal and commercial fishing entities to coexist without overconsumption and destruction. The Environmental Justice Foundation proposed as a recommendation for the government of Senegal to prioritize restoring fish populations, eradicating illegal fishing, and protecting artisanal fisheries, affected communities, and wildlife to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. Moreover, if governments in West Africa collaborate with international bodies, there is potential for food sovereignty through aquaculture. According to the UN's Food and Agriculture Organization, Africa accounts for only nearly 2 percent of global aquaculture production, and there are options for international investment in this type of activity to benefit the region. There is also potential for clean energy production, since Senegal has 3,000 hours of sunshine annually and can be an excellent producer of solar energy. With sound policy, stronger enforcement, and meaningful collaboration, Senegal can ensure that its fisheries and communities can thrive.