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| Senegal. Fish market at Saint-Louis. In the Senegalese economy, fish holds second place in exportable riches, after ground nuts, and is an essential element in the national diet. Although certain coastal zones are heavily involved in commercial fishing, others remain little exploited save that for local consumption. Fishing with canoes still predominates, being well suited to the material and human context, low-cost in terms of equipment and operating expenses, and extraordinarily adaptable. But there is competition today from industrial fishing. The victims of the race for productivity between the two methods are the fish, whose numbers off the coast of Senegal are quickly diminishing. In certain areas, fishermen have resorted to radical methods such as throwing sticks of dynamite into shoals of fish and harvesting the dead that float to the surface. Far from encouraging restrictions, the increasing rarity of products often leads to a catastrophic acceleration in exploitation. |
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