Senegal has seen a rapid and unchecked expansion in fishmeal factory operations in the past decade. But not all of its citizens are sitting idly by.
The coastal community of Kayar has taken a Spanish company to court, claiming its factory has contaminated drinking water with pollution that has endangered lives.
The case, which sought a temporary closure of the Barna fishmeal factory, was dismissed in November. But the regional branch of Greenpeace does not see this as a setback.
“We have confidence that the law will protect female fish processors and fishermen, make fish affordable and available to people again, and that children will be protected from factories polluting their environment,” said Aliou Ba, senior ocean campaigner at Greenpeace Africa, in a statement.
The Barna factory has been operating since 2019 and is one of eight registered fishmeal factories in Senegal. Similar factories have also been established in neighbouring The Gambia and Mauritania, to provide feed for the European and Asian aquaculture and livestock industries.
These factories are hurting artisanal fishers, as mechanised fishing trawlers supply them with large quantities of small fish that would otherwise be available for the artisans.
There has been growing activism in local communities, which are also suffering the impacts of poor waste management and pollution.
The first hearing, in September this year in the Senegalese city of Thiès, was described as historic, given the low level of litigation on environmental issues previously brought by citizens in West Africa. The proceedings were followed by large numbers from the community, concerned citizens and environmental advocacy groups.
People from the city of Kayar presented laboratory evidence of dangerous levels of certain elements in drinking water, and video footage of a fishmeal factory truck dumping waste in a lake connected to supplies of drinking water.