In West Africa, Greepeace and Changing Markets condemn the major European companies that produce fishmeal and fish oil, in a report published on June 1, 2021. For the two NGOs, these large companies are increasing food insecurity in West Africa.
“Devastating consequences”, the words of Greenpeace and Changing Markets are strong enough to confuse the current form of trade in fishmeal and fish oil in West Africa. The title of the report from the two NGOs is very explicit: “Feeding a Monster: How the European Aquaculture and Animal Feed Industries Steal Food from Communities in West Africa”. According to this study, 500,000 tonnes of small fish are caught each year along the region’s coasts and processed into feed for livestock and farmed fish off the African continent. there is also a transformation intended for the manufacture of cosmetics.
An activity that threatens society and the environment
According to Greenpeace and Changing Markets, the production of fishmeal and fish oil in West Africa has increased 13 times in the last 20 years. It went from 13,000 tonnes in 2010 to 170,000 tonnes in 2019. A method that jeopardizes food security in communities living on the coasts of Mauritania, Senegal and the Gambia. It also deprives communities of protein sources in countries that do not have access to the sea, such as Mali, Burkina Faso or Niger. “A serious threat to food safety in the sub-region”, warns the two NGOs in combination with environmental pollution in areas near the factories.
Complaints or demonstrations against the inconveniences of fishmeal and fish oil factories have been registered in Mauritania and Gambia. From a socio-economic point of view, the populations most affected are “the women who traditionally make smoked, salted and dried fish that they sell in the local market, and the artisanal fishermen”, the report specifies.
A traditional market and emerging markets that neglect the damage they cause
The European Union is the most important market for the products of this business, which Greenpeace and Changing Markets condemn. But China is not excluded, the demand for fishmeal has exploded due to the increased need for aquaculture. A demand that is also growing in two other Asian countries: Vietnam and Malaysia.
Greenpeace and Changing Markets call on countries in West Africa to stop the production of fishmeal and fish oil and prioritize the consumption of fish products.
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