Travelling in Africa is bittersweet.  I always appreciate the warmth of fellow Africans, the humanity that characterises daily life and the untold stories of Ubuntu. But there is a dark side. If poverty and quality of life are measured...

Honourable Members, I am writing this note to you before embarking on my pirogue to be able to feed my family. I trusted you in 2012 and would like to renew that confidence in 2017. But first, I want you to make my voice heard at...

My years as an oceans campaigner in Senegal have really allowed me to understand many facets of illegal fishing in this part of the world.  Along with the devastating effects it has on fishing communities, slashing jobs and the size of...

This message comes from Africa, the continent of considerable economic progress and some of the top emerging economies. The continent that is also highly vulnerable to climate change, despite being home to some of the most beautiful...

Dear Greenpeace, My name is Moustapha Sarr and I'm a Senegalese artisanal fisherman. Ibra, my son, and I are writing to you just as we finish landing our catch of the day to show you our support in these hard times. My name...

In February 2012, I had the fabulous opportunity to form part of the Arctic Sunrise crew in the fight against overfishing in the Senegalese-Mauritanian waters. There were more than twenty nationalities onboard during this ship tour. It...

Oceans do not separate us, they connect us together. They are beautiful, ruthless, and expansive; they have abundant life within them that we respect and revere but, sadly, they are also being overexploited by industrial...

Overfishing is no fairy tale; it’s a sad, harsh reality of life in the ocean today. Already, 90% of fish stocks are either fully or overexploited and that wave of lifeless oceans is already spreading to West African waters. Once...

Every year, World Oceans Day is an important opportunity for us to reflect on our campaign to protect West Africa’s ocean ecosystems. This year Greenpeace Africa and Senegalese fishing associations are marking the day with a public...

It’s a question that’s plagued NGOs for decades: How do we tackle some of Africa’s biggest challenges, like energy access, water access, and proper health services? While many community projects are planned and started from outside...

We’re at the fishing port of Mbour, 80 km from Dakar, one of the largest ports in Senegal. After spending 8 hours at sea defying waves and bad weather with low morale, Ndiaga Diop, a local fisherman, returns home with an almost empty...

It wasn’t just a shout that reverberated across my country Senegal: it was so much more. It was a cry that erupted from artisanal fishermen, a chorus of "no" to the proposed fisheries agreement between the European Union and Senegal.

When I stepped into Greenpeace back in October 2008, I was told I was the first African lady to join this organisation in Africa. I felt it was a continuation of the duty I started when I worked at Oxfam. With the latter, I was...

Have you heard the one about Greenpeace controlling the French Navy? No, me neither. But you might be forgiven for being confused by  some recent reports  about the Russian trawler seized in West Africa. Pirate fishing is a big...

The Russian trawler Oleg Naydenov has once again been the main player in the saga "IUU fishing off the Senegalese coasts." In late December, it was caught engaged in suspected looting in southern Senegal by the National Navy. Oleg...

Just one week after Chilean fishermen and Greenpeace vigorously protested against the Margiris mega trawler, Mauritanian fishermen and fishing communities in West Africa are also raising their voices against monster boats in their...

In the summer of 2012, small-scale Senegalese fishermen   reported a rapid and significant increase   in their catches. They attributed their rising fortunes to newly elected President Macky Sall's decision to revoke the licences of...

Like a wildfire, the decision by the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) to sanction vessels involved in illegal fishing activities in Africa has spread throughout the region. From Nouadhibou (in Mauritania) to Tumbu (in Sierra...