Dakar, May 17, 2022 – In response to the appearance of possible pollutants on the Petite Côte, Sénégal, Dr Aliou Ba, Head of Greenpeace Africa’s Oceans Campaign, has requested that the government of Sénégal make the results of its investigation public as soon as possible.
Julienne Dogue, a woman working in the fish processing business, collects seafood on the shore near Mar Lodj fishing village, Fatick region, Senegal.
“The government must make available to the public as soon as possible the overall results of the investigation, the first information of which is extremely worrying,” said Dr Ba. “The protection of the oceans and the fishermen who work there must be taken into account by the Senegalese authorities and studies should be carried out immediately in order to work out what caused this. The sea is not a garbage can. The authorities must ensure that factories, oil and gas platforms and ships do not discharge elements harmful to biodiversity into the sea.”
Reports of suspicious substances on the beaches of the Petite Côte since 13 May have been confirmed by several local fishing professionals, and may be linked to large numbers of dead juvenile fish that between 2 and 4 May washed up on Gandiol beach, Saint-Louis, Sénégal. On 17 May it was reported that among the several chemical substances hazardous to the marine environment found in the yellow coloured slick, there was “a strong presence of hydrocarbons and detergent in the samples taken by the National Navy”.
He added: “’Fishing communities need the government to strengthen the surveillance of Senegalese waters and protect fishery resources because these provide work for thousands of fishermen, fishmongers, women processors and other trades that revolve around the activity of fishing. For too long, big corporations and exploration companies have benefited from marine resources to the detriment of the Senegalese people who need them the most. This has to end.”
Noting that investigations carried out by various authorized structures are in progress and are closely monitoring progress, Dr. Ba concluded: “It’s vital that appropriate means are deployed to find out what caused this, and that measures are taken to avoid anything like this happening again.”
Press contacts
Amagor R. NIANG
Media and Communications SENEGAL
Contact: +221771834049
Dr Aliou BA
Greenpeace Africa Oceans Campaign Manager
Discussion
We cannot allow companies to destroy narure in places such as the wildcoast and richard bay
Thank you for your support. Indeed, we need a permanent ban on all seismic surveys on the wild coast.