Senegal fishing, Africa. Credit: Pierre Laborde, Shutterstock
Overfishing by foreign fleets is crippling Senegal’s fishing industry and pushing thousands of fishers to risk the deadly sea journey to Spain’s Canary Islands, according to a damning new report released today, May 13, 2025, by the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF).
The UK-based human rights and environmental NGO links the collapse of Senegal’s fish stocks to a sharp rise in irregular migration, particularly to the Canary Islands.
Fishing is a cornerstone of Senegal’s economy and food supply. The west-African sector provides jobs for around 3 per cent of the workforce and delivers nearly 8 per cent of the population’s total protein intake, yet it is now in crisis. According to EJF, 57 per cent of Senegal’s fish stocks are in a state of collapse, largely due to decades of overfishing. Most of the fish is exported to foreign markets, especially Spain and China, leaving local communities without their staple food source.
West-African communities devastated by overfishing
Around 45 per cent of all licensed industrial fishing boats in Senegal are controlled by foreign interests, often operating under opaque joint ventures. Although many are registered under Senegalese flags, EJF found that many are, in practice, run by Spanish or Chinese companies.
These fleets frequently use bottom trawling, a destructive method that indiscriminately scoops up everything on the seabed. This damage has led to drastic consequences: fish consumption in Senegal has plummeted from 29kg to just 17.8kg per person, a steep decline in a country where fish remains the main source of affordable protein.
Senegalese families using risky boat migration as a last resort
With local economies and diets collapsing, many Senegalese families have turned to boat migration as a survival strategy. In 2024, a record 63,970 people entered Spain irregularly, with 46,843 arriving via the Canary Islands – a route deemed the most dangerous sea crossing in the world. According to Caminando Fronteras, at least 3,176 migrants died on this route in 2023 alone.
“If I was able to gain enough money in fishing, I would never have come to Europe,” said Memedou Racine Seck, a former Senegalese fisher now in Tenerife.
Former fishers interviewed by EJF described the journey as a last resort. Many shared stories of sunken boats, destroyed fishing gear, and declining catches. In some tragic cases, boats have capsized or drifted for weeks without food or water, resulting in mass casualties.
Resentment is growing in coastal towns. Local activists and fishers say foreign nations exploiting Senegal’s resources are partly responsible for the migration crisis they now protest.
“I get so angry when these nations complain about immigration, because they are the real pirates,” said Karim Sall, president of Senegalese marine conservation group AGIRE. “They come here to steal our fish.”
EJF also documented multiple violations by foreign fleets, including fishing in prohibited zones, using illegal nets, and tampering with satellite tracking. Senegal was issued a ‘yellow card’ warning by the EU in May 2024 for failing to combat illegal fishing, jeopardising its fish exports to Europe.
EJF calls for reform
EJF and local fishers are urging both Senegal’s government and the EU to:
- Reduce industrial fishing licences
- Enforce protections for artisanal fishers
- Increase transparency in vessel ownership and license agreements
“European authorities can and must end this now,” said Steve Trent, CEO of EJF. “Return Senegal’s fisheries to the people of Senegal.”
Despite some reform promises under new President Bassirou Diomaye Faye, many believe change is not happening fast enough to stop the rising death toll at sea or to restore Senegal’s battered coast.
Read the full report by EJF.
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