Greenpeace's call for the preservation of the Senegalese "thiof" and the termination of its marketing by supermarkets, including the Casino Group, was a resounding success at the 14th International Fair of Agriculture and Animal Resources (FIARA ).
During the meeting between fishermen, farmers and breeders in the sub-region, the Greenpeace team collected more than 900 new voices adding theirs to those of thousands of Senegalese people who have already signed our petition.
Three-member teams took turns at the Greenpeace stand, to reach out to visitors and talk with them about the situation of fisheries resources in general, and about the “thiof” in particular.
This symbolic species of our country, once affordable to everybody is now a victim of overfishing, which is an eternal evil that plagues our seas. If we do not mobilize now, it will be too late. To this question that will be certainly put to us by the next generations “What could you have done?”, we will be speechless.
We were touched and upbeat at the same time, given the interest of visitors in our campaign. A female restaurant owner, through an informal conversation said: "Senegal is nothing without the thiof!" That assertion is especially true given that the majority of visitors we approached felt involved in the Greenpeace campaign.
The FIARA was the right place to remind visitors that fisheries resources are not inexhaustible. And it is more urgent we act now if we want to bequeath to our children and grandchildren a healthy and nourishing sea.
Certainly, the "thiof" is just the tip of the iceberg. But managing to preserve it will be a major step in our struggle to promote responsible fishing in the oceans.
Like these 900 people, I am a champion of the "thiof!" How about you? Spread the word to your neighbors after having signed the ongoing online petition at: www.greenpeace.org/africa/en/thiof/