World Oceans Day 2026: CONAPED calls for new fisheries governance in Senegal

On the occasion of World Oceans Day, celebrated this year under the theme "Robust Marine Protected Areas for Our Blue Planet", the National Coalition for Sustainable Fisheries (CONAPED) launched a call to "reinvent our relationship with the oceans", while placing sustainability, transparency and science at the heart of marine resource management.

In a statement released this Monday, the organization believes that ocean protection cannot be effective without coherent fisheries governance.

According to CONAPED, marine protected areas (MPAs) and protected fishing zones (PZs), established with the participation of artisanal fishing communities, will only produce their full effects if all public policies contribute to reducing the pressure exerted on fishery resources.

For CONAPED, "reinventing our relationship with the oceans" means breaking with the practices and decisions that have contributed to the progressive depletion of fishery resources.

"Reinventing means placing sustainability, transparency, science and the public interest at the heart of fisheries governance," the note reads.

The organization also denounced the introduction of new industrial trawlers intended to exploit coastal demersal stocks, considered the most fragile. "A decision that contradicts the conservation objectives pursued for nearly twenty years, as well as the sacrifices made by artisanal fishers within the framework of MPAs and PFAs," the source indicated.

Regarding the food security argument put forward to justify the granting of new licenses, CONAPED emphasizes that the exploitable potential mentioned, estimated at around 2,900 t, remains marginal compared to the national fish consumption estimated at nearly 200,000 t per year.

The organization also points out that Senegal exports more than 230,000 tons of fishery products each year.

In terms of governance, the coalition says it is intrigued by the recent publication of the list of industrial fishing vessels authorized to operate in Senegalese waters without a prior audit having been carried out on the origin of some vessels and the conditions of their integration into the national fleet.

For the coalition, transparency, accountability and respect for the rule of law are fundamental commitments to citizens, therefore it demands that ''full light be shed on the process which led to the lifting of the freeze on licenses for coastal demersal species''.

Finally, the organization makes several recommendations to the Senegalese authorities. These include the opening of an independent investigation into the conditions and motivations behind the lifting of the fishing freeze, the maintenance of the precautionary principle until the sustainability of resources is guaranteed, the organization of an inclusive national dialogue on the future of the sector, and the strengthening of transparency and respect for scientific advice in all decisions relating to fisheries.

CONAPED also urges public authorities to respect the thirteen commitments contained in the Charter for sustainable fishing.

For the coalition, Senegal now has a historic opportunity to show that another path is possible: that of a responsible blue economy, transparent governance and sustainable exploitation of marine resources.

"The future of our oceans is not built on increasing pressure on already fragile resources, but on their protection, restoration and sustainable management," the statement concludes.