BANJUL, Gambia (AP) — Video exclusively obtained by The Associated Press documents an emerging problem in the fight for dominance between Gambian fishermen and foreign-owned commercial vessels in West African waters.
Local fishermen, angered by what they call illegal encroachment and sabotage by the foreign vessels, confronted one of the boats, the Egyptian-owned Abu Islam. Video footage shows the unintended result: A local fisherman, part of the foreign vessel's crew, writhes with severe burns from the arson attack by his countrymen.
Gambians are now fighting Gambians at sea, driven by market forces — and foreign appetites – beyond their control.
The problem came from attempted reforms. To give locals more say, and pay, in commercial fishing, Gambia’s government now requires foreign vessels operating offshore to carry a certain percentage of Gambian crew.
Those locals have become accidental targets of an anger they understand well, after trying to compete with the Chinese-owned and other foreign vessels with little more than small wooden boats and their bare hands.
The video was shared by the Association of Gambia Sailors. The AP reviewed more than 20 such videos from various sources showing confrontations since 2023.
The burned man, Kawsu Leigh, said he is surprised to have survived, and unhappy that Gambians have been made into rivals.
“It’s like most of them, when they are going for fishing, it’s as if they’re going for war,” said Abdou Sanyang, secretary general of the Association of Gambia Sailors.
In the past two years, Gambia’s government has increased the quota for local crew members on foreign-owned fishing vessels from 20% to at least 30% — meaning more potential for Gambians fighting Gambians.
Desperate fishermen consider migration
The fighting threatens to tear fishing communities apart, while overfishing to supply seafood buyers around the world undermines livelihoods for everyone. There are concerns that the fish population off Gambia could collapse in the coming years. That would be a business and environmental disaster in a small country with two main economic drivers: tourism and seafood.
For generations, Gambia’s fishermen have known no other work. Now, the financial pressures of competing with foreign-owned vessels are leading some to give up. They are tempted to sell their boats for use in another growing industry: migration toward Europe through the risky Atlantic waters.
Some of the fishermen become migrants themselves, hoping for another kind of good fortune at sea. Leigh, unable to support his family, is considering that now.
Two men against 20
Brothers Famara and Salif Ndure say they have lost more than half of their fishing nets to foreign trawlers that pull at the nets and damage them.
They said the foreign vessels have become increasingly aggressive since the current government of President Adama Barrow took over after the ouster of former dictator Yahya Jammeh in 2017. Gambia reopened its waters to foreign-owned vessels that year.
Famara said fishing nets are often cut at night, when the foreign vessels go beyond authorized zones. Local fishermen have exclusive fishing rights within 9 nautical miles from shore, but they claim the trawlers come as close as 5. That has made clashes inevitable.
He and his brother once had 15 nets. Now they have three. A single net line can cost $100, making replacement almost impossible in a country where the per capita income is under $1,000.
The trawlers are “destroying the nation,” the brothers said, asserting that incidents are reported but nothing gets done. They think the money the government makes from the licensing of foreign trawlers is the reason. Licensing fees vary, with some vessels paying the equivalent of $275 per ton.
Gambia’s government did not respond to questions from the AP.
Repeat offenders
Most of the foreign trawlers operate without proper documentation and with unauthorized gear, asserted Lamin Jassey, president of the Gunjur Conservationists and Ecotourism Association. The local group advocates for better fisheries policy.
One significant case has reached court in Gambia over fishing conflicts, and another is being prepared. One is the arson attack involving Leigh’s vessel. The other is a collision last year between a foreign trawler, identified by local fishermen as the Majilac 6, and a local vessel that killed three local fishermen.
They are rare cases in a country where the pursuit of justice takes time and cash that many people don’t have.
Omar Abdullah Jagne, the managing director of the Majilac Group of vessels — whose owners come from various countries — did not respond to AP questions. The owner of the Majilac 6 was not clear.
The government has been trying to patrol the seas.
In March last year, before the deadly collision, armed maritime interdiction units with Gambia’s navy detained eight foreign trawlers for offenses including fishing in protected waters, fishing without a valid license, misreporting catches and using undersized mesh, which collects fish smaller than allowed.
It was a rare deployment. Gambia’s poorly resourced navy has relied on international support from nonprofit organizations to watch its waters.
The Majilac 6 was among the vessels detained. But the vessels soon returned to sea.
Fines for offenses are not fixed and can be negotiated. Repeat offenders face little punishment.
Outside observers of Gambia’s fishing industry are few to none. Sea Shepherd, a nonprofit conservation group, has an agreement with Gambia to jointly patrol the country’s waters but did not visit last year as part of its mission to combat illegal fishing off West Africa.
Eating fish becomes too expensive
The conflict at sea off Gambia occurs as fish stocks decline. Fish including grouper, cuttlefish, sardinella and bonga are over-exploited, according to an Amnesty International report in 2023.
The sailors association believes that the foreign vessels eventually will move into the waters of nearby countries like Sierra Leone and Guinea Bissau, seeking more fish and less opposition.
Declining fish stocks have affected food security in Gambia. Prices have risen, putting fish out of reach even for many people who pull them from the sea.
Instead, the majority of Gambians “depend on chicken that is imported from the world, which is very sad,” Jassey said.
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Associated Press writer Mustapha Manneh in Banjul, Gambia, contributed.
___ This story was supported by funding from the Walton Family Foundation. The AP is solely responsible for all content. ___ Contact AP’s global investigative team at [email protected] or https://www.ap.org/tips/
Grace Ekpu, The Associated Press
