In Senegal, the international environmental NGO Greenpeace condemns in a report the non-transparency of the issuance of industrial fishing licenses to Chinese vessels. A practice that had already condemned stakeholders in the fisheries and Senegalese media.
as reported from Dakar,
The controversy over the allocation of industrial fishing licenses continues in Senegal. It all started in May last year. In a letter to President Macky Sall, Senegalese fisheries organizations condemn the license application from 52 foreign industrial boats, the vast majority Chinese. Licenses denied, Fisheries said.
Still, according to a just-published report Green peace, four licenses were actually awarded on April 17, including one to a Chinese vessel that is part of the same list of 52 boats. Greenpeace then expressed doubts about the transparency and legality of the licensing process, which allows foreign vessels to plunder Senegalese fishing resources to the detriment of artisanal fishermen whose licenses have been frozen since 2012.
The NGO also makes sure that the same boats have hidden their real GPS coordinates for fishing illegally in Senegalese waters. Greenpeace then asked the ministry for the official list of all industrial vessels licensed to fish off Senegal. A request that was not followed up. Contacted by RFI, the authorities have not yet responded to our requests.
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