In brief
Local fishermen in Saint-Louis, Senegal, blame the BP-operated Greater Tortue Ahmeyim gas project for dwindling fish stocks, leading to economic struggles. With regulations limiting access to fishing areas, many fishermen are losing hope and turning to alternative livelihoods. The community, reliant on fishing for survival, is caught in a struggle between energy development and traditional practices.
Every day, Gora Fall, a fisherman in Senegal's northern city of Saint-Louis, heads to sea with a mix of emotions: hope and frustration. He hopes for a better catch than the previous day yet feels frustrated knowing it might not meet his family's needs. He notes, Before, we worked to live, but now we just work to survive.Saint-Louis, a major fishing hub, is home to many small-scale fishermen like Gora, who face hard times due to a liquefied natural gas platform operated by BP. This Greater Tortue Ahmeyim project, which started in 2017, is claimed to produce approximately 2.3 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas annually for over 20 years. However, local fishermen contend that this comes with restrictions on fishing, critical to 90% of the city's 250,000 residents who rely on fishing for their livelihoods.Fishermen like Gora encounter a 500m exclusion zone around the gas facility, making it hard to fish near areas rich in marine life. The authorities forbid us to fish in that area by penalty of confiscation of our equipment, Gora explains. This restriction debilitate the fishing community already facing competition from large international trawlers, leading to reduced daily earnings—from past profits between $445-$625 to a mere $90 today.Women handling fish processing are also impacted as fish prices rise and catches dwindle. If canoes could return with abundant catches, the women would return to work, shares Diamol Sène, a processor struggling with job loss in the sector. With profits plummeting, many fishermen are forced to consider abandoning the practice altogether or resorting to other jobs, including abandoning fishing for carpentry or migration.As BP maintains its commitment to operate responsibly, community members express concern that promises of economic growth come at the cost of their livelihoods, stating, We only have the sea to live on. This sentiment encapsulates the fishermen's struggle against the ongoing changes that threaten their century-old way of life.
