Senegal’s artisanal fishermen once fed their communities and sustained families across generations. Today, foreign-owned trawlers, many sailing under the Senegalese flag, are emptying the waters off Dakar and Saint Louis, much of the catch ground into fishmeal for farmed salmon, pigs, and chickens abroad. The result is collapsing fish stocks, lost livelihoods, rising food insecurity, and a surge in dangerous migration. Yet the crisis is not inevitable: with stronger enforcement, public-private cooperation, and investment in aquaculture, Senegal can still protect its fisheries and the communities that depend on them.

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