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Imports
Senegal fish product imports keep increasing every year. Imports in 2018 were estimated 3,300 MT. According to the Directorate of Fish Processing Industries’ (DITP) 2020 report, Senegal imported 8,872 MT in 2020, up 47.42 percent year-over-year and 280 percent jump as compared to 2018. However, according to TDM, Senegal imported 7,072 MT of fish and seafood products worth $11.65 million for the same year, down 9.2 percent from the previous year because of COVID-19 restrictions. Imports are largely sardines, sardinella and brisling or sprats (57 percent), other frozen fish (11 percent), tuna (9 percent), fish-liver oils (8 percent), frozen lula and sepias (8 percent) and crustaceans and mollusks (7 percent). (Trade Data Monitor)
In Senegal, imports of fish products are made all year round with peaks in July, corresponding to the winter period, biological rest periods and religious ceremonies (Magal, Gamou) and in October, November, and December. According to Senegal’s Directorate of Fish Processing Industries-DITP 2020 report, the main suppling country remains Mauritania with a volume of 67.4 percent. Imported productsare mainly made up of frozen mullet and dried fermented fish. According to the Trade Data Monitor, Morocco supplied 35 percent of Senegal fish imports in 2020, most likely because Mauritania did not report. Scotland and Norway provide fresh salmon, France smoked salmon and Pilchard (Sardinella).
Overall, the low imports cannot cover the local demand. There is a gap of approximately 150,000 MT to fill every year. Fish product imports cover only one-tenth of this deficit, which represents an opportunity for U.S. fish and seafood exporters.
Imports from the United States
In 2020, Senegal imported fish and seafood products from the United States valued at $380,000, down 23.5 percent compared to imports in 2019, estimated at $500,000. Most of the imports from the United States are mainly fish liver oil, frozen shrimp and prawns and prepared or preserved fish, including products containing meat of crustaceans, mollusks, etc., and fish balls, cakes, and puddings.
Price
The price for white grouper has increased sixfold, from an average of 650 FCFA ($1.20) during the period 1980–2000 to an average of 3600 FCFA ($6.60) per kilogram over the period 2000 – 2016. In 1990, captain fish and octopus were sold at less than 150 FCFA ($0.27) per kilogram. Over the decade 2010–2020, the price of captain fish has also grown sixfold (i.e., an average of 750 FCFA ($1.37) per kilogram), while the price of octopus has multiplied by fourteen (i.e., an average of 1720 FCFA ($3.21).
Sardinella, the most locally consumed fish previously accounted for less than ten percent of the volume of exported products, now represents sixty percent of the volume exported, and is therefore less available on the local market. It was sold at 25 FCFA ($0.05) per kilogram during the period 1980–2000 but is now traded at over 150 FCFA ($0.27). (Source: Marine Policy, Article 138) Climate change,global warming and the Ukrainian crisis will continue to exacerbate price inflation for demersal and pelagic fish.
As for farmed fish, the price range for tilapia is 1500-2500 FCFA ($2.67-$4.46). The price for African catfish is between 2500 and 3000 FCFA ($4.46-$5.35) and is approximately $8 once processed into smoked fish.
Despite all these challenges, Senegal is a large exporter of fish and fishery products. Since 2008, there has been a surge in exports, reaching $458 million in 2020, thirteen times higher than imports, causing the scarcity of fish on the domestic market. The low imports cannot cover the local demand.
Policies
Government monitoring and support programs
The Government of Senegal (GOS) has developed a new Sectoral Policy Letter for the Development of Fisheries and Aquaculture (LPSDPA) which covers the period 2016 – 2023. This goal of this policy is to ultimately enable the sector to contribute to food security, economic growth, and local development in accordance with the orientation of the national economic and social development strategy of the Senegal Emerging Plan (PSE) through the Sustainable Management of Fisheries Resources and Restoration Program, the Aquaculture Development Program, and the Valorization of Fish Production Program.
The GOS has expressed commitment to sustainably manage fisheries and increase enforcement efforts to stop IUUF. USAID’s Senegal Fisheries Applied Political Economy Analysis highlights that the GOS is also working with the World Bank to freeze the already large artisanal fleet by registering licensed pirogues in a more permanent manner (plaques as opposed to painted identification), equipping registered boats with Automatic Identification System (AIS) chips, and banning the construction of new pirogues. Even with limited state resources for surveillance, the GOS has increased human resources
dedicated to enforcement, initiated the ratification process for the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) of the United Nations -led Port States Measures Agreement (PSMA) to increase international coordination to detect IUUF, and, in some cases, punish industrial and artisanal IUU fishing. More on USAID’s Senegal Fisheries Applied Political Economy Analysis is available here.
The government of Senegal has implemented recent innovations in the policy system such as:
- The Implementation of an Early Warning System (SAP)
Since 2015, the USAID - ComFish project, in collaboration with the University of Rhode Island (URI) and the GOS, has supported the implementation of a platform for the transmission of meteorological information to fishermen, commonly known as the Early Warning System (EWS). This system is reinforced by USAID through the Climate Information Services Project to Increase Resilience and Productivity in Senegal (USAID/CINSERE). The SAP broadcasts SMS alerts received directly by the recipients' phones and used by the committees at the landing sites to green flag (safe sea), yellow flag (prudence) or red flag (dangerous sea, no exit) drapes. Local radio is also used to broadcast alerts(Senegal Ministry of Fisheries, 2018).
- The project for the geolocation of small-scale fishing boats (in test phase)
The Directorate of Fisheries Protection and Monitoring (DPSP) has undertaken a geolocation program for SSF vessels with the help of fishing stakeholders as well as technical partners. Four geolocation platforms are currently being tested with a total of 274 beacons (ANSD, 2020). For more information, please refer to the report A Situational Analysis of Small-Scale Fisheries in Senegal: From Vulnerability to Viability - Challenges and Opportunities for Fisheries Governance. V2V Working Paper 2022-2. V2V Global Partnership, University of Waterloo, Canada.