The battle for transparency in fishing has just begun
On May 6 2024, Dr Fatou Diouf, Minister of Fisheries, Maritime Infrastructure and Ports, published the list of vessels authorised to fish in waters under Senegalese jurisdiction. She went on to emphasize that this move ‘reflects the principle of transparency in the management of natural resources, which are a national heritage’. This initiative represents a step in establishing transparent and sustainable fisheries management.
Who controls foreign-owned boats in joint-ventures?
On reading this list, we see that on the one hand there are the European vessels fishing under the fishing agreement (13 seiners, of which 6 are Spanish and 7 French, 4 baitboats, of which three are Spanish and one French), and on the other hand, 132 vessels registered in Senegal. Of these 132 boats – almost all of which are trawlers – it is striking that a good half have names of Chinese origin. Add to that a series of boats of Spanish, French, Korean and other origins. The question is whether these foreign boats are really controlled by Senegalese. Can we really talk about ‘local industrial fishing’?
In 2020, the Association for the Promotion and Empowerment of Small-scale Maritime Fishing in Senegal (APRAPAM) published a list of foreign boats that had applied for a licence and were operating as joint ventures. At the time, all these vessels were “in the process of becoming Senegalese”, i.e. they were going to fly the Senegalese flag. With a view to this re-flagging, the law requires that 51% of the capital be held by a Senegalese.
At the time, APRAPAM complained that this condition was not met by some joint ventures. Some joint ventures that served as screens for these boats only had a share capital of one or two million CFA francs.
One mixed company even had only CFA 100,000 in share capital, even though it managed 6 coastal pelagic trawlers!
Under these conditions, how can it be imagined that it is the Senegalese partner, with his CFA 100,000, who really has control of the joint venture, rather than the owner of these boats worth several billion CFA?
The list published on 6 May 2024 shows that most of these boats have been Senegalese-registered since 2020. Does the Senegalese partner have more control over these foreign boats today than it did in 2020? It is unlikely. Under the guise of these joint ventures, Senegalese industrial fishing is in the hands of foreign interests that do not respect our regulations. Senegalese legislation requires all Senegalese industrial vessels to take an observer on board. In most cases, these Senegalese vessels ignore this obligation.
Some of these trawlers do not hesitate to hide behind the Senegalese flag to take advantage of the fishing protocols negotiated by Senegal with other countries in particular Guinea-Bissau and Liberia. They take advantage of the fishing resources of these countries, often without complying with the legislation in force, at the risk of damaging relations between Senegal and its neighbours.
Gathering and disseminating information on beneficial owners
The people pulling the strings of the joint ventures under which these Senegalese-registered foreign vessels operate are the “beneficial owners” – Chinese, Russian or European companies and citizens established in a foreign country. In 2022, at the Conference of Ministers of African, Caribbean and Pacific States, a commitment was made by all the countries present, including Senegal. This commitment states: “take steps, as a flag or coastal state, to update and implement national legislation to require the declaration of ultimate beneficial owners of fishing vessels and companies when granting flag or fishing authorization, and the maintenance of a register of beneficial owners of fishing vessels at the national level”.
In application of this commitment, we encourage our authorities to take all necessary steps to collect and publicly disclose information on the beneficial owners of vessels that have flown the Senegalese flag.
In particular, we insist that the audit of the Senegalese fleet, promised twenty years ago, be carried out, and the results published. The objectives of the fleet audit should include at least the following elements:
- An exhaustive inventory of fishing vessels flying the Senegalese flag;
- Verification that the situation of each vessel complies with the legislative and regulatory provisions in force regarding the acquisition of the national flag;
- An assessment of the contribution made by shipping companies to food security, the creation of national wealth, the promotion of employment and foreign exchange earnings;
- A reassessment of the technical characteristics of vessels (tonnage, etc.).
This audit should provide a clear picture of the current administrative, technical and economic situation of fishing vessels operating under the Senegalese flag.
Given the state of our resources, it is imperative to opt for policies to reduce capacity. The published data shows that this problem exists in both industrial and small-scale fishing, with 17,449 fishing permits issued to canoes.
The audit of industrial fishing, the majority of which is carried out by joint ventures, will be an important tool for making political choices that will enable priority to be given to those who follow the rules, who contribute most to food security and job creation, while respecting the priority access rights of small-scale fishing, in line with SDG 14b.
We encourage the Minister and her administration to shed full light on the mixed companies and ensure that they operate legally, transparently, contribute to the country’s economy, and do not harm small-scale fishing in Senegal and other countries in the region where these vessels operate.
The role of the licensing commission should be strengthened
Senegalese small-scale fishermen and the civil society that supports them have repeatedly denounced the lack of transparency in the procedure for granting industrial fishing licences in Senegal. In 2020, a general mobilization took place as the authorities were preparing to issue 54 industrial fishing licences, mainly for small pelagics and hake, including 52 licences to Chinese vessels and two licences to Turkish seiners.
As recently as August 2023, the Interprofessional Council for Small-scale Fishing in Senegal (CONIPAS) expressed its disagreement with the granting of new industrial fishing licences by the Senegalese authorities, in contradiction with the opinion of the Advisory Committee for the Allocation of Fishing Licences (CCALP).
In response to these claims, the authorities have made a number of commitments to improve transparency. In 2016, the Senegalese government made a public commitment to implement the Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI).
We hope that the new Minister and her administration’s commitment to greater transparency in Senegalese fisheries will be reflected in their support for the FiTi initiative, so that stakeholders and the general public can find out who is fishing what, and who is benefiting from the profits.
But transparency is not an end in itself, it must also lead to greater involvement of professionals in fisheries management, especially given Senegal’s commitment to co-management [article 6 of the Fisheries Code].
In addition to the need for transparency, we are calling for the licensing committee to be given the power to decide who is and who is not authorised to fish for Senegal’s ‘blue gold’, rather than merely being consultative.
By Gaoussou
President APRAPAM