Commission of inquiry into fishing licenses: Fatou Diouf exposes the cheating on vessel tonnage and the falsified documents

During her hearing before members of parliament, former minister Fatou Diouf made explosive revelations about the management of fishing licenses in Senegal. Underreporting vessel tonnage to reduce state fees, expired seaworthiness certificates, and outdated insurance policies: the former minister detailed the administrative irregularities she uncovered upon taking office in 2024. While defending the financial regularization measures that replenished the public treasury, she addressed her final decision-making power in light of parliamentary concerns about the rigor of the allocation process.

Ship tonnage, insurance, and navigation permits: the former minister revealed numerous anomalies in administrative files. Fishing licenses were not spared from discrepancies and irregularities. Appearing before the parliamentary inquiry committee of the National Assembly tasked with investigating the management of fishing licenses and authorizations, the former Minister of Fisheries, Maritime and Port Infrastructure, Professor Fatou Diouf, provided a detailed account of the dysfunctions identified in ship files, as well as the precautionary measures taken during her tenure to strengthen controls.

During her hearing, she highlighted glaring discrepancies between the tonnage certificates, navigation permits, and nationality certificates of certain fishing vessels. These major anomalies necessitated extensive cross-checking with the National Maritime Affairs Agency (ANAM).

The issue of ship tonnage particularly caught the attention of the commissioners. According to explanations provided by the former minister, technical inspections revealed that several ships had actual capacities significantly exceeding those declared at the time of registration. This volumetric data is the key variable in calculating the financial fees owed to the Treasury. Faced with these underreportings, the calculation criteria were readjusted. This adjustment led to a significant increase in the amounts collected and replenished state coffers, demonstrating the enormous financial stakes involved in ensuring the reliability of administrative documents.

Navigation licenses and documents placed under close surveillance

The former minister also emphasized the shortcomings observed in the monitoring of insurance policies and seaworthiness certificates. Some of these essential documents were expiring while operating licenses remained active. This discrepancy allowed vessels to continue their maritime activities without submitting a valid administrative file.

To address these shortcomings, Fatou Diouf claims to have issued firm instructions between April and December 2024 aimed at streamlining and securing the issuance and renewal of licenses. From then on, each application had to meet several cumulative requirements: a favorable opinion from the Licensing Advisory Committee, absolute conformity of tonnage certificates, compliance with seaworthiness criteria, and up-to-date validity of insurance policies, paid fines, and outstanding fees. A document-by-document review was also required to synchronize the validity periods of fishing licenses, seaworthiness permits, and insurance policies, in order to prevent vessels with technical irregularities from remaining at sea.

The final decision rests with the ministerial authority.

Returning to the licensing process, Fatou Diouf emphasized the central role played by the Directorate of Maritime Fisheries (DPM) and the Advisory Commission for Licensing. This interministerial body, composed of 14 members from various government departments and agencies, serves as the framework for reviewing applications. However, its opinion is purely advisory: the final decision to grant or reject a license rests with the Minister. In the event of disagreement or a lack of unanimity among the commissioners, the Ministerial authority retains the final say.

This organization has sparked strong reservations among parliamentarians, who have questioned, in particular, the working conditions of this commission. Several members of parliament have denounced the late submission of voluminous files, handed to the commissioners only a few hours before the sessions, a practice likely to hinder the thorough examination of requests and compromise the rigor of the process.

Sanctions for offences: The preferred approach is transactional and financial settlement.

When questioned about the handling of maritime offenses committed by trawlers and fishing vessels, the former minister explained that the Directorate for Fisheries Protection and Surveillance (DPSP) is responsible for identifying violations at sea and drawing up official reports. These cases are then submitted to a special review board comprised of representatives from the DPSP, the Directorate General of Fisheries, and the minister's office to determine the appropriate sanctions.

Fatou Diouf pointed out that the Fisheries Code prioritizes financial penalties and settlements, and therefore does not impose prison sentences for the offenses in question. She affirmed that she had meticulously followed the recommendations issued by these technical committees, both for the allocation of licenses and for setting fines.

Finally, the parliamentarians scrutinized several specific cases dating back to 2018-2019, notably the contentious cases of the vessels Fada and Ya Faama . These emblematic cases illustrated the complexity of permit renewals and the recurring discrepancies in assessment between operational services and evaluation committees. The work of the parliamentary inquiry committee continues, examining all the depositions and administrative documents related to the management of national fisheries resources.