Senegal fisherman fight for survival

There's a new gas plant off the coast of Saint Louis, in Senegal, in the Atlantic ocean. This could mean growth for Africa's economy, but destruction for the environment.

Saint Louis has a long fishing tradition and this gas plant is a nightmare for the fishermen. Local fisherman Moustapha Dieng believes this will destroy the sea life and leave many jobless.

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."

Though drilling harms the environment, Senegal might be allowed to drill. This could be a solution to the global energy crisis. Many countries around the world are searching for new sources of oil and gas.

Sophie Gladima is Senegal's minister of Energy. She claims that drilling will mean more access to electricity, more employment and development for Senegal.

However, Pape Fara Diallo is concerned that the local fishermen will not benefit from the developments.

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 gas plant has got a zone around it that's forbidden to enter. But it's located where most of the fish live. Going fishing too far north of the plant, in Mauritania's waters is also illegal. This has put the traditional fishing culture at risk.

Dieng believes drilling will be the death of fishing.

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."

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