Fish population in Senegal drastically declines amid a surge in illegal fishing

Ibrahima Mar first lost his livelihood then lost his son when the fish off Senegal's coast began to disappear, rupturing a way of life that had sustained his family for generations.

Industrial and illegal fishing, among other factors, have contributed to a sharp decline in the region's fish stock, robbing the West African nation of a traditional source of income.

In recent years, fish have been "increasingly plundered", said Mar, who lives in a fishing village in the Dakar suburb of Rufisque.

The 55-year-old fisherman, a member of the Lebou ethnicity, a traditional fishing people, spoke to AFP from one of Rufisque's boat landings, explaining that the fish had been "taken from our path."

Significant decline

Bottom trawlers and other industrial ships, generally flagged to Senegal but whose owners' real nationalities are difficult to trace, send their catches abroad.

Destructive and illegal practices meanwhile include "fishing in prohibited areas, nets that do not comply with regulations, and MPA (marine protected area) rules that are not respected," Diarra said.

A 2025 EJF report suggests that 57% of fish populations exploited in Senegal are on a steady decline.

"What a pirogue used to catch in two months, now that same pirogue can fish for six or seven months to catch the same amount, which is a problem," Mamadou Diouf Sene, president of the Fishing Wharf Revenue Commission of Rufisque, told AFP from the city's wharf.

'Only source of income'

A web of professions from cart driver to ice seller, as well as fishmonger and processor, depend on fish.

Fishmonger Fatou Seck, 39, sat at the Rufisque wharf alongside several other women with small trays of sea bream, white carp and mullet.

"Times are really tough right now," the mother of six told AFP, adding that "many of us base our hopes on this work, which is our only source of income to feed our children."

More than 82,000 people in Senegal work in fishing according to latest census information, comprising some 2% of the workforce in 2023.

Artisanal fishing

A surge of artisanal fishermen has additionally contributed to fish population decline, as people flock to the profession which requires minimal training.

Estimates on pirogue numbers in Senegal vary but generally fall between 12,000 and 19,000.

Meanwhile, climate change is pushing West Africa's small pelagic fish – smaller, often schooling species caught by artisanal fishers – to move northward, according to research.

Fish have declined for some 40 years but artisanal fishers really took note when small pelagics like sardinella and horse mackerel started vanishing some 15 years ago.

Possibility of fish imports

Mar decried the prospect of Senegal having to import fish, a part of its cultural identity and a major natural resource.

Cheikh Salla Ndiaye of Senegal's Directorate of Fisheries Protection and Surveillance described monitoring the sea as "very difficult", even with assistance from the navy and air force.

Mar recently spent time on a Greenpeace ship with four other fishermen learning how to better spot and report illegal fishing.

But technologies such as tracking devices, satellite radar and even smartphones, which fishermen can use to take pictures and pinpoint boats' locations, are changing that, she said.

Personal setback

Mar intends to take these tools back to his community.

With his two fishermen sons now gone, one in Spain and the other taken by the sea, Mar's experience with declining fish stocks is deeply personal.

As for his third son, Mar said: "I put him in a training centre. He's learning metal welding."