Traditional fishing provides about 10% of jobs in Africa
Afrasianet - Laith Mushtaq - The African Sahel is a strategically important geographical strip that combines a vital location, rich resources and diversity of ecosystems, one of the most prominent global trade routes, and amassing enormous natural resources.
Along the African shores, the territorial waters of the continent are rich in fish wealth that serves as a backbone for local economies and supports food security. However, this wealth faces serious challenges that threaten its sustainability.
According to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), fish is a "valuable source of food for the poor" and a key pillar of food security in Africa. It contributes to meeting about 22% of sub-Saharan people's dietary protein needs, making it a key pillar of a sustainable food future in the region.
Africa contributes about 7 percent of global marine life production and many countries on the continent, especially low-income countries, are undertapping their full potential, according to FAO. Last year's production was about 14.4 million tonnes, according to FAO, adding to that about 1.8 million tonnes produced by Africa through aquaculture.
Traditional fishing forms the backbone of this sector in both marine and fresh waters, and is the source of livelihood for millions of people, and is estimated to provide about 10% of jobs in Africa.
African countries have about 12 agreements with the European Union, and are supposed to regulate fishing operations through two types of agreements, the first for tuna fishing, and the other for mixed fishing, which includes several types of fish.
Tuna fishing agreements allow EU vessels to catch the species during the migration and movement of their flocks along the shores of Africa. Mixed fishing agreements enable its vessels to access a wide range of fish stocks in the coastal State's exclusive economic zones.
In the case of Cape Verde, Côte d'Ivoire,Gabon, Mauritius, Madagascar, Senegal, the Gambia, Sao Tome and Principe, these conventions are concerned with permitting tuna fishing. It is expanding with Mauritaniaand Guinea-Bissau to allow fishing for other types of marine life, or mixed conventions .
Unfair deals
The terms of the agreements vary by country, but most expire between 2026 and 2029, with the exception of Senegal, which is currently reviewing a possible new agreement as the former expires in force, while Guinea-Bissau has completed the renegotiation.
Last September, Guinea-Bissau renewed its fishing agreement with the European Union, under which ships from Spain, Portugal,Italy, Greece andFrance are allowed to fish in its waters for a period of five years. Accordingly, it receives about 85 million euros for the entire duration of the agreement, and the amount rises to 100 million after adding fees paid by ship owners for fishing licenses.
According to Columbia University professor Rashid Soumaila, African countries get "unfair deals" under these agreements, receiving pittance returns compared to the real value of their marine resources.
West African fishing communities are losing their fish wealth without benefiting from the proceeds in real development projects, he said, "leaving them without fish and without dollars".
When reviewing the revenues of a country like Senegal from these agreements, we find that between 2000 and 2010, it earned a total of $11.9 million, while the value of fish caught reached about 19.2 million.
Depletion of resources
African countries face additional challenges due to fishing agreements, including the depletion of the continent's marine resources and the degradation of fish stocks. This depletion is becoming a real threat to the livelihoods of local communities as the availability of fish is decreasing, hampering the ability of local fishers to generate sustainable income.
Aliwa Ba, director of the Greenpeace Ocean Campaign, believes the main threat to the continent's ocean and communities is the unsustainable exploitation of marine resources through "unfair" agreements. He adds that these patterns of exploitation exacerbate social and economic inequality, driving many people to despair and migrate.
Africa faces the additional problem of illegal fishing by commercial fishing vessels that penetrate the exclusive territorial waters of States and fish in them without prior authorization.
A report by the Fiscal Transparency Alliance estimates that Africa loses about $11.5 billion annually to illegal and unregulated fishing, making it the region most affected globally by these practices. This fishing is depleting stocks of some fish species and threatening the livelihoods of some 5.2 million people working in the continent's small-scale fisheries.
The report warns of "significant social and economic consequences as a result of the attrition of irregular fishing by industrial vessels" as West Africa relies heavily on fishing as a source of income.
According to the same source, the sector provides about a quarter of the jobs associated with it. The World Bank estimates that illegal fishing and unregulated fishing activities cost Africa more than $1.3 billion a year.