On the beach at Joal, a major fishing centre south of Senegal’s capital, Dakar, women watch as the pirogues (fishing canoes) unload their catch. The women are far from happy. The nets are almost empty, but they expect worse when a Russian factory opens in Senegal to convert fish into meal. It will be the last straw for their fish-drying and curing business. The trade, traditionally plied by women, is essential to preserve the seafood, which is sold on to consumers inland. But today they will not be able to buy a single crate of fish. Some say there are times when they have no work for a whole month. The situation has deteriorated significantly since Chinese, Korean and Russian factories started springing up along the coast, producing meal for fish farming and stock breeding in Europe and Asia. Over the past three years, 11 plants have been built near the beaches where local fishermen land their catch, between Kayar, north of the capital, and Joal, which accounts for about a third of the country’s coastline.
In Joal (population 40,000) the mood has been tense since the construction of the new Russian factory, Flash Africa, was announced. A plot of land has already been fenced off. Marianne Teneng Ndaye, who heads the trade federation representing women fish-processors at Joal-Fadiouth, has called for a day of protest. “The Koreans turned up five years ago but they only took ribbon fish, which didn’t bother us,” she says. “But now they are buying fresh sardinella, what are we going to eat? The Russian factory aims to produce 46 tonnes of meal a day. It will need 460 tonnes of fish to do that, but since 2010 the Joal fishing boats haven’t ever landed more than 200 tonnes a day. It’ll be the death of us.” “The price of fish has doubled in just a few years,” complains Khadi Diagne, another fish-processor. She says she cannot afford to pay the $12 it now costs for a 50kg crate and that her income has been halved in three years. “Here they count on the mothers to feed the family,” she adds.
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By Martine Valo February, 18 2014
Photograph: Holly Pickett/Reuters