Feature story - December 5, 2012
On Monday, Greenpeace Africa and several Senegalese fishermen’s associations launched Sustainable Fishing week. This joint initiative will be taking place throughout the country, until the 8th of December, to raise awareness about the urgent need for a long-term sustainable fisheries policy in Senegal.
The Sustainable Fishing Week also aims to remind local authorities about their responsibility to preserve and protect the fisheries sector that more than a million people work in.
Activities happened in Dakar on Monday, Nianing on Tuesday, Kayar today, and will be happening in St Louis tomorrow and Ziguinchor on Friday. Photo exhibitions, debates, discussions and screenings of films about the African fishing industry all fueled the urgent need for action to protect these marine resources.
Throughout the week, everyone involved will be calling on the Senegalese authorities to redouble their efforts in the implementation of a sustainable fisheries policy and maintain the course of positive action that the new administration has set, including never granting licenses to fish already overexploited stocks.
This week is also an opportunity to remind them that in the interest of good governance and transparency, they should shed light on practices that allowed the plunder of fisheries resources through fishing authorizations granted to foreign pelagic trawlers.
Greenpeace is calling for the creation of a network of marine reserves in the Senegalese Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) as a tool of protection and conservation.