Senegal initiates management plan for Sardinella fisheries
In the framework of the Shared Sardinella initiative, implemented by the EAF-Nansen Programme and fisheries authorities in partner countries, key stakeholders in Senegal met for their first consultative meeting on the 7th and 8th June 2022 in Dakar, Senegal. The objective of the meeting was to discuss problems and seek solutions for sustainable management of sardinella fisheries in Senegal and the northwest Africa region, based on the ecosystem approach to fisheries (EAF).
Sardinella fisheries are highly valued for their significant contribution to the economy (including employment opportunities), as well as food and nutrition security of coastal and inland communities in northwest Africa and beyond. This is why sustainable management of sardinella fisheries should be treated as priority in the sub-region. Today, the round Sardinella (Sardinella aurita) is decreasing rapidly, due to a high fishing pressure, reinforced in the recent years by the development of fishmeal industry in west Africa, which targets sardinella as a major species. Limited data, together with the rapid changes in exploitation and the transboundary nature of these fish stocks, make stock assessment using traditional methods difficult. All available information and recent regional assessments, carried out by the FAO Working Group on the assessment of small pelagic fish off Northwest Africa that is integrated in the advisory framework of the Fishery Committee for the Eastern Central Atlantic (CECAF), points to overfishing, particularly of the round sardinella stock. At present, very little information is available on the Madeiran sardinella.
Given the urgency of the situation and the importance of the sardinella fishery in Senegal, the Ministry of Fisheries and Maritime Economy of Senegal asked FAO to support the management of the fishery according to EAF. For this reason, a project was initiated in Senegal in 2021 that aimed to develop a management plan for sardinella fisheries. As part of the initiative, scientists have been trained in fisheries data collection and biological and socio-economic data that is crucial for fisheries management, have been collected.
The evolution and the baseline of the fishery were discussed during the two-day consultation meeting. All the stakeholders that were present agreed on the urgency to restore and preserve sardinella stocks and their habitats to ensure the contribution of the species to the food and nutrition security of the Senegalese population. They also underlined the necessity to strengthen their contribution to the economy and employment opportunities at local and national level.
This consultation meeting was the first step of a long process to achieve a sustainable management of the sardinella fisheries in Senegal and the northwest Africa region, according to the EAF.
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