Senegal, Mauritania end fishing stalemateSenegal and Mauritania, two West African countries with huge fishing potential, have agreed to end a fishing stalemate between them that saw nearly 12,000 Senegalese fishers banned from accessing Mauritanian fishing sites for several months. The ban originated from alleged incidents of illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing in Mauritania’s waters by Senegalese fishermen. The new agreement comes several months after Mauritania decided in early 2019 to ban all foreign fishing boats, including those from Senegal, from its waters because of their alleged contribution to IUU fishing. Mauritania had imposed hefty fines on Senegalese fishermen caught engaging in illegal fishing within Mauritanian waters. Some vessels have been caught falsifying records to cover up for the illegal fishing, while others engage in illegal fish landing, unloading their catch at sea, or using vessel flags of convenience to evade compliance.

Source: The North Africa Journal March 02, 2020 14:48 UTC