Photo: T.K. Naliaka/Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0
Fishing representatives in Djifère, on Senegal’s central coast, have raised concerns about access to traditional fishing areas, coastal erosion and the effect of offshore petroleum activity on local livelihoods during a community meeting held with Greenpeace Africa.
The meeting brought together members of the Local Council for Artisanal Fishing, known as the CLPA, and Greenpeace Africa as part of the environmental organisation’s work with coastal communities. Participants discussed the Sangomar offshore oil development as well as wider pressures affecting fishing communities along the Senegalese coast.
Souleymane Thiaw, coordinator of the Djifère CLPA, said a 500-metre restricted perimeter around the offshore platform prevents local pirogues from entering an area that fishers had previously used. The restriction is intended to keep vessels away from petroleum infrastructure, but community representatives argue that it has reduced access to fishing grounds.
Community concerns over fish stocks and the coastline
Local fishing representatives also reported that some species they traditionally encountered near the coast have become less available. Those observations are important to the community, but DGBN has not seen independent scientific evidence establishing that the reported change in fish availability was caused by the Sangomar project. Any causal link therefore remains a claim requiring further evidence.
Coastal erosion was another major concern. Djifère and other communities around Senegal’s Saloum Delta face long-running pressure from shoreline change, rising seas, storms and other environmental factors. Local leaders have called for stronger protection of vulnerable coastal areas and for communities to be included in decisions affecting the coastline and marine economy.
Amadou Oumar Touré, an oceans campaigner with Greenpeace Africa, said the organisation’s visit was intended to gather concerns from people living and working along Senegal’s coast. The group plans to incorporate the findings into its advocacy on petroleum development, fisheries and coastal protection.
Oil development meets an established fishing economy
The debate illustrates a broader challenge for African coastal states: how to develop petroleum resources while protecting fishing, food supply and communities whose incomes depend on the sea. Senegal began producing oil from the Sangomar field in 2024, adding a new export industry to an economy in which artisanal fishing has long played an important social and commercial role.
DGBN has examined similar questions around Africa’s energy development, including how new refining capacity is reshaping African economies, the new East African refinery project in Kenya, and the economic cost of environmental degradation across the continent.
The next step in Djifère will be whether the concerns collected at the meeting lead to further dialogue with regulators, petroleum operators and local authorities, and whether independent monitoring can establish the environmental changes described by fishing communities.