Senegalese conundrum - 9th November 2022

Off the Atlantic shores of Senegal, bordering Mauritania, a brand new offshore gas rig has been erected. Heralded as a promising era of prosperity for Africa's economy, it's simultaneously being condemned for its potential for environmental destruction.

The gas platform serves as an omen for local fishermen and fishmongers - a decimation of centuries of local fishing traditions.

Secretary General of a fisherman's union, Moustapha Dieng.

Moustapha Dieng: "There is a natural reef over there. This natural reef is a very hard and very old rock. They chose to put the gas platform over there so that it would be well supported. But this rock is the habitat of all the fish, many species of fish, and practically, there are more than 3,000 pirogues, the small canoes that you see, which made their living from this area."

Given the global energy crisis European leaders are more open to the call of Senegal's president to be allowed to exploit their fossil fuels. Sophie Gladima, the country's minister for Energy and Oil, believes the exploitation of these hydrocarbons will furnish the public with greater accessibility to electricity and promote industrialisation. Nevertheless, for Pape Fara Diallo, these promises of prosperity that will come with the exploitation of these fossil fuels is a far cry from that of the humble reality of these fishermen.

Pape Fara Diallo: "We feel the concerns. We see the contrast between the billions that we are told will come from the extraction of offshore gas and the poverty that you see around you."

The rig's constructed in the main natural habitat of marine life in the area, which is also included in an established out of bounds zone. And at risk of entering and illegally fishing in Mauritania's waters further north, local fishermen are left vulnerable to attacks on their fishing vessels by coastguards, leaving fishermen fearing the worst for their livelihoods.

Dieng is convinced both industries can't coexist.

Moustapha Dieng: "Cohabitation is not possible. If you're extracting the gas, you are killing the fishing in Saint-Louis. Because Saint-Louis is the capital of fishing, the number of boats that there are in Saint-Louis, the types of fishing that there are in Saint-Louis, they exist nowhere else."