Senegal is hosting the World Forum of Fishers and Fishing Workers this year. This major international gathering was founded in 1997, the same year that World Fisheries Day was established and is celebrated every November 21st. Mamadou Goudiaby, Chief of Staff to the Minister of Fisheries and Maritime Economy, explaining the symbolic significance of this meeting, recalled that Senegalese organizations, notably the CNPS, a member of the interprofessional organization CONIPAS, participated in the very first edition of the Forum in New Delhi in 1997.

According to him, the work of this global structure has largely contributed to the official recognition of November 21 as World Fisheries Day, now celebrated in several countries.

Mamadou Goudiaby stressed the relevance of the issues that had motivated the creation of the Forum: the fight against overfishing, the preservation of breeding areas and the protection of coastal ecosystems.

"It is an honor for Senegal and for Africa to host this forum. Senegalese fisheries resources, whether pelagic or demersal species, are currently under severe pressure. Some species are fully exploited, even overexploited. Several already appear in the red list," he warned.

The Chief of Staff warns of the real risk of seeing certain species listed by CITES, the international organization responsible for species threatened with extinction.

He therefore calls for close collaboration with research institutions for a rigorous assessment of stocks and sustainable management.

For Daouda Ndiaye, co-president of the World Forum of Fishing Peoples and vice-president in charge of communication for CONIPAS, the issue goes far beyond the Senegalese context alone.

"We are facing a capitalist system that prioritizes profit over the livelihoods of fishing communities. We are fighting to preserve our values, traditions and knowledge," he explains.

Daouda Ndiaye lists the many challenges faced by artisanal fishermen: offshore oil and gas exploitation; marine protected areas sometimes established without consultation; industrial fishing that destroys ecosystems, particularly with bottom trawls that release carbon and worsen global warming; increased pressure from maritime transport; and the rise of seaside tourism, often at the expense of areas traditionally exploited by fishermen.

Present in international bodies such as the UN or the FAO, the World Forum of Fishing Peoples intends to use this meeting in Senegal to strengthen its advocacy for fair and sustainable management of fisheries resources.

For the Senegalese authorities, this forum represents a strategic opportunity to reaffirm their commitment to preserving their stocks, promoting artisanal fishing and international scientific cooperation.