Senegal's fisheries policies: Evolution and performance

Abstract

In 2016, Senegal's fisheries contributed 14.63% of total value of export earnings, representing 3.2% of Gross Domestic Product and employed an estimated 600,000 people, of which 30% were women. It is very important for Senegal to establish an effective policy system and protect its valuable fisheries resources. To realize this goal, scientists, government officials, and related parties should critically reflect upon fisheries policies and their performance. Given the high institutional instability in the country, this paper discusses the various policies adopted during different Senegalese political regimes, their evolution, and their implementation. This study also assesses how these policies impacted the availability of fishery resources in the country, and changed fishermen's behavior and income. We find that although some policies are effective, the overall policy system is still in dire need to be improved, as fisheries are still experiencing a downward trend due to illegal fishing and overfishing. We also find that the motorization of pirogues contributed to increasing the catch volumes and the extension of fishing areas. However, the signs of declining volumes of landings noted in the 1981s prompted the authorities to take advantage of specific management measures and regulations for the protection and restoration of habitats and overexploited marine resources. We propose a model of policy formulation based on stakeholder theory that deals realistically with issues of over-exploitation and illegal fishing, where all the interested parties should strongly participate in the decision-making process.