Growing Diversity – West Africa

TITLE OF EXPERIENCE: Fishing in Kayar

AUTHOR: Management Centre of the Kayar fishermen

COUNTRY AND REGION: Senegal, Kayar

ECOLOGICAL ZONE: Coastal region

ABSTRACT

The Centre for Research and Development of Intermediary Techniques for Fishing (CREDETIP) is at the origin of this experiment. The methodology can be compared to a spider's web. At first, thanks to a number of volunteers the work consisted in organising the fishermen in each village into committees throughout Senegal. Each committee had a meeting place called a 'local'. These meeting places were offices where decisions on small scale fishing were made.

These committees have now joined together to form the National Collective of Small Scale Fishermen of Senegal (CNPS). The work carried out by CREDETIP and the CNPS has raised the awareness amongst fishermen on the need to perserve and properly manage coastal biodiversity which is their only source of revenue. But to do this, a meeting of those involved in small scale fishing in KAYAR resulted in a set of regulations agreed by all the local and migrant fishermen. It was recommended that more selective tools should be used, such as lines and turning seine-nets.

In Kayar, fishing by seine-net allows the villages and the towns in the centre of the country, and even the countries in the sub-region like Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso and Benin to be provided with fresh supplies of fish. Because of the increasing scarcity of some species which were being caught until recently, the fishermen of Kayar and the local authorities in the region, have identified two fishing techniques that prevent the sustainable management of fishing resources. These are, the use of gill nets at depth and deep longlining. All have agreed to ban these fishing techniques. This ban is being respected and means that day fishing is the main activity in Kayar, and fish are always available for the well-being of the people.

CONTACT:

Centre de gestion des pêcheries de Kayar, BP 11 – Kayar – SENEGAL, Tél./ Fax 221 953 50 33