That’s all there is!
title: Senegal – West Africa -
title: Kayar – fishing village -
My name is Magar Seck. I live here in Kayar
Super: Magar Seck – fisherman -
I'm a fisherman, my father was a fisherman,
My brothers are fishermen, my sons are fishermen.
Here in the village we’re all fishermen,
In my family we’re all fishermen. We all live on fishing.
I love my work.
Super: Amadi Die Ye – fisherman -
Of course if there was some fish it would be better!
Sometimes we’re out for two days in a row,
Two days at sea before we find any fish!
We have to take all the food and water to live on.
But that's what we have to do
because there's very little fish left…
Listen.
when I was 15 years old and went fishing
the fish that was about then and what there is today
are very different.
There were types of fish that don't exist any more.
The situation gets worse by the day.
Fishing is hard work: there’s much less fish nowadays.
Once there were kinds of fish that you don't find any more.
The quality fish that was caught before was worth more.
Now only the lower quality fish is left and it's not worth much
and only the big boats manage to catch something.
The situation gets worse by the day.
Sometimes when you're fishing the big vessels come along,
they don't change course and they run into you.
They break your light and your nets and then they go away.
I haven't had any incidents or problems like that,
but the big foreign vessels come into our territory,
they invade us and take away our fish.
For us this is a real disaster!
Don’t forget to take the torch!
Find it!
Here it is.
Title: Port of Dakar
The captain's Spanish but he's away at the moment,
he's got to attend to some administrative matters.
Find him right away
otherwise I'll take someone else!
The vessel's Spanish, European Community,
it's not a Senegalese vessel with a mixed flag:
it's Spanish!
All Spanish from the European Union.
So we fish with a European licence.
Sometimes we fish here in Dakar,
or in Mauritania, Conakry, Guinea-Bissau:
it depends which are the best areas for finding fish.
If you have a 30 to 32 ton hold
and you can fill it, you do fill it!
There is no catch limit – No,no, no, no, no
If the boat can take 3,000 cases, it takes 3,000 cases,
If it takes as many as 10,000, it catches 10,000,
If the hold capacity is 40,000 cases … then 40,000.
There’s no limit!
The fish is processed and frozen at sea
and it's ready for export.
Title: Brussels – European Union -
Super: Fabrizio Donatella – DG fisheries -
The European Union has a network of bilateral agreements
with various countries.
The majority are African countries.
We have fishing agreements with 22 countries in all.
The fishing agreement with Senegal
is very important for the European Union
because it's part of a network of agreements
with East African and West African countries.
This allows European fishermen
not only to have access to Senegalese waters
but also to create a possibility of passing through Senegales waters
for vessels that fish in other countries in the area
like Mauritania and Guinea – Bissau.
The agreement with Senegal is the central point for us.
Title: Italy - Milan fishmarket -
The grouper are from Senegal,
the scorpion fish come from Morocco,
the dentex are from Senegal…
A lot of stuff comes Africa.
We get fish from Tunisia, Morocco Senegal and Algeria.
The fish that costs least comes from Senegal
then there are some exceptions…
For example the grouper are almost all from Senegal.
But the yellow grouper costs a lot.
Because it's a very difficult product to find.
Title: Kayar – fish processing -
Once upon a time there were a lot more fish.
Super: Maty N’Dao – fishery worker -
Grouper: all gone!
Gilt head seabream: all gone!
Bass: all gone!
Sea perch: all gone!
All the big, high quality fish,
the fish you could catch near the cost:
it has all disappeared! All disappeared!
We did rituals to bring the fish back, but it was no good!
Only the smaller fish is left.
The bigger fish that used to be about
has all been caught. There are too many ships!
The bigger fish that used to be about has all disappeared,
it’s all gone!
Title: Dakar – city center -
Title: WWF Africa
There are some species of fish that have disappeared from the sub-region,whether those species will come back even with good managementis another question and I don't think anybody really knows the answer.
Super: Paul Siegel – WWF Africa advisor -
Title: Océanium – environmental NGO -
Swordfish, big swordfish!
Super: Haidar El Ali – environmentalist -
At one time on the Saint Louis beach here in Senegal,
you could see mountains of bass, sea perch and croakers.
You don't see any of these fish any more!
There's a fish that is a legend in Senegal
it’s the Djaregne, the gilt head seabream
but it's disappeared: you can’t find it in the fish market
and when a fisherman catches one,
he's all proud and says: “Ooooh, I've caught a Djaregne!”
My God! Twenty years ago
we used to cut of this fish's head, belly and tail,
and we just exported the back muscle, we had so many of them!
Super: Laura Drame – Socofroid GM -
“Socofroid” is a preserving plant for frozen fish.
It has a capacity of 4,000 tons, 15,000 cubic metres,
divided into four freezing chambers.
Now there is strong tendency to export it
to Europe by sea or air.
There were various rounds of negotiations
to reach the agreement with Senegal,
because for us it was very important
to have an agreement that on the one hand
ensured access to Senegalese waters
and on the other hand provided a certain guarantee
of responsibility on both sides.
I'm not saying that the Senegalese didn't want to reach an agreement.
That's not true!
The Senegalese wanted an agreement that was unbalanced -
I mean balanced - for both sides.
As far as the rounds are concerned I can't enter into details
because obviously these are confidential negotiations…
Title: Dakar – fish market -
Title: Fenagie – fishermen’s union -
I represented the fishing union, the “Fenagie”,
Super: Amadou Wade – trade unionist -
which is the only Senegalese fishermen's organisation
that went to Brussels for the negotiations
for the whole negotiation process.
We had various rounds of negotiation.
We had 8 rounds of negotiations.
The negotiation process is an interactive one
in that of course we had studies that were done
to ensure that what we wanted to obtain
was sustainable but also acceptable
not only for the government with which we were negotiating
but also for the local fishermen.
To ensure this we had to have a direct, very close relationship
not only with the European industry, but also with local industry.
We came to the ninth round of negotiations.
We weren't even invited.
None of us knew anything about it.
One fine day we hear from the radio
that the negotiations are overand the agreement has been signed!
Title: United Kingdom – London -
Title: Herald Tribune offices
Now, why West African countries conclude these fisheries agreementsat extreme disadvantage for themselves in some cases with European countries, must be a matter for some speculation.I would be very surprised if some form of corruption was not involved.Because the benefit to the people of West African countries, like Senegal, from these fisheries agreements is minimal, benefits to elites that may conclude them could be quite considerable.
Super: Charles Clover – journalist -
As far as compensation is concerned,
each year the European Union pays Senegal 16 - 18 million Euros.
In addition the shipowners pay
another 2 - 3 million euros for the fishing licence.
So not only can Senegal enjoy the fishing agreement
but it can also use these financial resources
to finance a responsible fishing policy in their waters.
We certainly need to have agreements with developed countries
but we need to manage our resources.
We need our artisanal fishermen to work.
We need the women who work in fish processing to find the fish.
We need the traders to buy the fish.
We need the economy that depends on the sea
to be a strong economy to develop the country!
And to do this you have to let the artisanal fishermen fish
not the industrial vessels that come here and take our fish stocks
and send them down to Europe!
At the end of four years of fishing agreements
all those ships,
all the dreadful consequences
for the people and the fishermen of Senegal
you'll see it wasn't worth it!
Because what we lose is much more important than what we gain
and so far not a penny of financial compensation
has reached the fishing organizations,
any organization: not a single cent!
So we don't see the money
because it's going round the offices somewhere
if it hasn't gone to line the politicians' pockets!
We don't see the fish
because it's sent directly abroad.
So what do we gain from this?
One of the main reasons why the Europeans need to fish in West African waters is because the European fish stocks are in decline. Many are critically threatened while others are on the verge and the result is that in order for fishermen to do their work , they have to find fish stocks.
Two thirds of the commercial fish stocks in Europe seas are now over -fished, drastically over - fished, below their biological replacement levels.
Title: England – harbour of Lowestoft -
It’s a struggle you know, I t didn’t use to be until eight years ago, it was a good living then. Seven years ago then it got really bad. But I love it. I love it.
Ok, when I first came down here 40 years ago at two in the morning the dock would be absolutely full and there might be up to ten vessels landing fish. They would start in that corner, go all the way up the market and even round the corner here if necessary. Hundreds and hundreds of crates of fish would be landed on the market everyday. Now you see dock today no trawler whatsoever. And the port sadly doesn’t possess deep sea trawler of its own. Still a budding market, still an important market but not with local north sea fish.
Where here we are this morning sixty boxes of fish landed, some only half full. And if I can tell you that when I started down here, that was quite long time ago the market was full, not this bit here but another bit on that hand and another bit on that hand. The market was full. And the whole market was full, probably 20 boats landing. And every boat landing probably 300 boxes.
I’m still the company secretary of Colne Shipping Company. I’m semi-retired now, I only work two days a week as I am 66 now, but I keep an eye on the company and I come in the office one or two days a week. I do a little work. But I look backwards instead of looking forwards.
Super: Hugh Sims – secretary -
This is the boardroom of the company. The picture on the wall is the gentleman who founded the company, in 1947 he started the company Mr. Claridge and this was his room, this room was set up for meetings. What I wanted to show you is this picture.And Lowestoft had one of the biggest fleets in the whole of Europe fishing for herring, perhaps 300 boats would come into the harbor. And the herring fishery employed nearly everybody in Lowestoft in the 1930‘s. after the war the herring fishing started up again but they would only fish herring for so many months and then they would change their boats and fish for white fish, for the cod the plaice and so on.
In that dock there as Donny said you could walk across the dock on the drifter flight when the herring catching was the business. There were so many drifters. The dock was absolutely packed, you could walk from one side to the dock to the other, from ship to ship to ship, right across the dock.
And gradually the herring went away until in the 1950s it finished, and by which time the white fishing had increased. And I would have thought that in the late 50s there were perhaps 200 trawlers in Lowstoft . As the boats became bigger and more expensive so there were less of them and I would have thought in the 70s there were perhaps 120 boats. By the 80s there were a 100. In the early 90s there were 80. In the late 90s there were 20. In 2002 there were 8. And in 2003 there were none, none big distance water trawler as we were used to having.
When you look it is sad. It is sad to see the decline this port has gone to. In 38 years I have come here fro 300/400 ships to a couple of dozen at the most. That is it. That is life. Life of the fisherman. It is sad. Sad. Is there anything else you want.
The examples of whole populations of fish being gradually ground down, and perhaps even wiped out,really only began to be recognized by the end of the 19th century. And it’s really been a phenomenonof the 20th and 21st centuries. It really happened in a single human lifetime that you used to be able to catch fish that was large as a man an now the same fish of the size of a man’s hand.That was how a fishermen first put it to me and it scared me.And that’s essentially what’s happened. Because of the march of technology you can now see any fish, anywhere, at any level in the water column. You can see the contours of the sea bed. And there are forms of fishing technology which enable you to catch any fish at any depth so there is nowhere to hide.
Title: Iceland – Reykjavik -
Title: Fisheries Technology Exhibition
Here in the centre of the screen we have the position of the boat given by the satellite. What I want to show you now is the same picture but in colour.The colours here show the depth, so we can see a depth of 0 metres in redand a depth of 60 metres in blue.Now if the fishermen have a target between 20 and 30 metres.What we see now is the depth between 20 and 30 metres.Here in a 2-dimensional view and here the same but in a 3-dimensional view.
We can detect the type of sea bottom that the fisherman is looking at.It may be sand, rock or coral. And afterward he can go back and look at this track and see all the areas that he likes to fish or needs to fish.The next time he can define the course through these areas and can avoid all the dangerous areas or the ones that don't suit his fishing plan
Fishermen used to work with much less accurate satellite positioning systems
and every time they steered the same course
leaving some areas completely uncontaminated
for fear of ruining their nets.
Today they sweep the seabed very accurately
so perhaps they have become exterminators but…
Fishing today is very important.
You have to pay for the boat,
you have to pay for the fuel,
and obviously you have to catch more fish.
Certainly you contribute to the destruction of the seabed but…
People want to eat fish.
It's how the market is evolving at present.
You can have from blue to deep red, and if you have blue, green or yellow it's probably plankton. If you have pale red or dark red, that's fish. Then here you can see the size of the fish, and how many fish of each size. Here you can see where it is, ther stock is under the keel of the boat.
A fisherman who doesn't keep up with modern fishing methods
is a fisherman without a future!
Title: Kayar
Super: Bayo Mor Mbaye – spiritual leader -
I put some powder and roots in the "Gri Gri" and then I give it to the fishermen.
It allows you to see the fish
and it protects you from accidents
and lets you come home safe and sound.
The sea can't do anything to you and it can't harm you,
unless it is the will of God...
Super: Mor Thiaune – fisherman -
I take the "Gri Gri" and I put it round my neck like this.
When I see the fish I get it out and I spit on it,
then I show it to the fish
and I hypnotise them and paralyse them.
The fish stay there in a big circle without moving.
So we can catch them easily.
That's how we fish in Senegal.
It's very important. Yes, it's really very important!
The world is dominated by the mystery of the future.
But there are people who have the gift of seeing into the future.
At night I have visions about what will happen in the days to come,
so I can warn the fishermen about the danger they are facing
and I warn them to make animal sacrifices...
To appease the evil spirits and thank God.
We fish at night
because the moonlight reflects on the fish scales.
It's as though they were lit up by moonlight.
If we can see this glow, we can see the fish.
Once we have located the fish,
we head towards them with our pirogues,
we surround them
so that they all group together,
and then we can catch them.
Look, I put my hat on like this and keep my head warm.
With a warm head, the heat spreads to the rest of the body.
Because it's very cold at night at sea.
Ok, I'm ready!
This is the GPS for the position of the ship.
This is the automatic pilot
to help navigation.
And this is the other automatic pilot: two pilots.
This is the long distance radio system
to talk over great distances.
This is another radio
another GPS and yet another radio.
There are two of each system.
We have two radars, one here and another there.
A plotter and two sonars
to scan the seabed.
This ship can hold 115,000 litres of diesel fuel.
And we use 2,000 litres for each shift.
2,000 litres for each shift of work.
A shift is 24 hours.
To be precise, a shift is 24 hours of work
because when we go out we never stop.
We're always on the move, and we never stop fishing!
All the fishing areas are slack here!
That's not true. Who are you trying to kid?
All the areas are slack because they're overfished.
Everybody comes here to fish!
If there's room for 20 vessels in an area, 40 go there
Senegal earns more money like that
but the fish is divided between all the vessels
and it's not profitable for anyone
except for Senegal!
But in 5 or 10 years' time, nobody will ask to come here
because there's already very little fish!
The centre of Senegal has become much more drought ridden than it was 30 years ago.Drought has encroached further and further towards the coast. Population is moving towards the coast.The last resource of people in Senegal is the sea and we are increasing pressure on that last resource at a time when we know that is declining and we know the population is growing.So we will be responsible for a gigantic human tragedy very soon, in terms of decades, very soon.We need to start putting this right very soon otherwise Europe will be seen to be responsible.
We estimate that that the boats that fish here
through agreements with the European Union
number about 600 in total.
So it's not a large number
it's not a huge number.
As far as we're concerned it's traditional for Europeans
to fish in the waters of countries with which we have fishing agreements
and you can't talk of a European invasion
as some people do when talking about these agreements.
The 500 industrial fishing boats
fish 50% of all the fish.
It's the industrial boats that catch 20% of the pelagic fish.
So the 500 foreign boats that come into our waters
catch 50% of the coastal fish
and the remaining 50% is fished by the 15,000 pirogues,
by the 70,000 fisherman,
who provide a living for 600,000 people!
Rimasarimbamba
I want so many things from life
Rimasarimbamba
You've got to have balls!
Rimasarimbamba
You mustn't be afraid of death!
Rimasarimbamba
Let's go, warrior!
Rimasarimbamba
You mustn't be afraid of death!
Rimasarimbamba
I'm frightened!
Pull!
Hunger is death!
Pull!
When you're hungry, you cry!
Pull!
Pull!
When the catch is good...
the fisherman cries for joy!
The fish cry too!
Give me the fish!
I'm not frightened of laughter and money!
So I mustn't have any pity for the fish!
You work and you break your back...
but your back becomes stronger!
Warrior!
Oh mother!
Warrior!
Warrior...
Warrior!
Come on boy!
Come on: you are not working!
Warrior!
Try to pull at the same time!
Careful, they're coming out!
Hurry up!
See if you've tied the rope properly...
Grab it here and let's tip them into the pirogue.
The great warrior!
The great warrior!
I've taken some small fish for me,
I'm going to take them home and fry them!
Yesterday was a hard day!
We cast the nets 5 times: 5 times!
It was hard yesterday because we looked for fish
in a certain place and didn't find any,
and we went to and fro several times
but I think the fish had hidden very deep
so it was impossible for us to see it.
You never know how the fishing will go.
Sometines you catch some fish and you manage to sell it,
sometines you just don't find any fish.
With the fish we caught yesterday
we didn't even pay for the fuel!
A crate weighs about 60 kg and we caught 22 crates of fish.
We sold each crate for 1 Euro,
and earned 22 Euro in all, for 22 crates: nothing!
In the end we caught some fish, we came back to harbour
and we sold 22 crates of sardines.
But a tank of petrol is 100 litres and costs 35 Euro
And so, in the end you've worked a whole night,
you've got cold and you've worn yourself out to earn nothing!
I've got ten children and they all depend on my work.
If I don't catch enough fish, they don't eat.
They all rely on me and they hope I'll earn enough...
And some are only this tall...
The fishing agreements are commercial agreements.
we're not providing development cooperation;
we act in keeping with development cooperation
but the European Union must have a commercial interest in a fishing agreement.
As I said before the agreement with Senegal
is an agreement that...
Ensures us a future,
and I am convinced tha there will be a new agreement
that is even more interesting than the present one…
That one is Daourd,
this one is Papa,
This one is Khadim,
this one is Adama,
this is Ali,
and finally this is Aziz.
This is my brother's son Papa Niay,
this my son Samba Fall Seck,
this my other son Aziz,
this one is Daourd:
all togheter we are more than 30 people!
Papa Niang,
Mamy Ndiaye,
Mama Assour
Ndiene
Mansour
Abdourahmane
There are a lot of people
who have emigrated to Italy and other European countries.
They are people who come from fishing families.
Three have gone from my family and from others too.
These people went fishing
but they say fishing no longer provides a living.
So they left their pirogues
and they say you can't live here any more
and Europe is the land of plenty.
Title: Italy – steelworks of Dalmine -
I cut steel pipes here.
I work various shifts, from 6 am to 2 pm,
from 2 pm to 10 pm, from 10 pm to 6 am.
Super: Mamadou Mbaye – former fisherman -
Tonight I work from 10 at night till 6 in the morning.
It's very hard: before I used to go fishing at night!
I was a fisherman;
my father is a great fisherman at Yoff in Senegal
and we used to go fishing as far as Kayar
and even further.
Things used to go well and I saw them go fishing.
There was fish and they made good money.
But later, when I finished school
I went fishing with them for a year and a half
but the situation had deteriorated.
Before we lived well, but not any more.
You could see there was less fish
and as time went on, things got worse.
So I decided to try to make something of my life
and not to go fishing any more.
That's why I decided to emigrate.
So that I would have money to help my family.
If the fishing had been good, I would rather have stayed in Senegal
and worked peacefully near my family...
...I would have done that willingly.
Title: A documentary by: Cafi MohamudLuca Cusani
title: Senegal – West Africa -
title: Kayar – fishing village -
My name is Magar Seck. I live here in Kayar
Super: Magar Seck – fisherman -
I'm a fisherman, my father was a fisherman,
My brothers are fishermen, my sons are fishermen.
Here in the village we’re all fishermen,
In my family we’re all fishermen. We all live on fishing.
I love my work.
Super: Amadi Die Ye – fisherman -
Of course if there was some fish it would be better!
Sometimes we’re out for two days in a row,
Two days at sea before we find any fish!
We have to take all the food and water to live on.
But that's what we have to do
because there's very little fish left…
Listen.
when I was 15 years old and went fishing
the fish that was about then and what there is today
are very different.
There were types of fish that don't exist any more.
The situation gets worse by the day.
Fishing is hard work: there’s much less fish nowadays.
Once there were kinds of fish that you don't find any more.
The quality fish that was caught before was worth more.
Now only the lower quality fish is left and it's not worth much
and only the big boats manage to catch something.
The situation gets worse by the day.
Sometimes when you're fishing the big vessels come along,
they don't change course and they run into you.
They break your light and your nets and then they go away.
I haven't had any incidents or problems like that,
but the big foreign vessels come into our territory,
they invade us and take away our fish.
For us this is a real disaster!
Don’t forget to take the torch!
Find it!
Here it is.
Title: Port of Dakar
The captain's Spanish but he's away at the moment,
he's got to attend to some administrative matters.
Find him right away
otherwise I'll take someone else!
The vessel's Spanish, European Community,
it's not a Senegalese vessel with a mixed flag:
it's Spanish!
All Spanish from the European Union.
So we fish with a European licence.
Sometimes we fish here in Dakar,
or in Mauritania, Conakry, Guinea-Bissau:
it depends which are the best areas for finding fish.
If you have a 30 to 32 ton hold
and you can fill it, you do fill it!
There is no catch limit – No,no, no, no, no
If the boat can take 3,000 cases, it takes 3,000 cases,
If it takes as many as 10,000, it catches 10,000,
If the hold capacity is 40,000 cases … then 40,000.
There’s no limit!
The fish is processed and frozen at sea
and it's ready for export.
Title: Brussels – European Union -
Super: Fabrizio Donatella – DG fisheries -
The European Union has a network of bilateral agreements
with various countries.
The majority are African countries.
We have fishing agreements with 22 countries in all.
The fishing agreement with Senegal
is very important for the European Union
because it's part of a network of agreements
with East African and West African countries.
This allows European fishermen
not only to have access to Senegalese waters
but also to create a possibility of passing through Senegales waters
for vessels that fish in other countries in the area
like Mauritania and Guinea – Bissau.
The agreement with Senegal is the central point for us.
Title: Italy - Milan fishmarket -
The grouper are from Senegal,
the scorpion fish come from Morocco,
the dentex are from Senegal…
A lot of stuff comes Africa.
We get fish from Tunisia, Morocco Senegal and Algeria.
The fish that costs least comes from Senegal
then there are some exceptions…
For example the grouper are almost all from Senegal.
But the yellow grouper costs a lot.
Because it's a very difficult product to find.
Title: Kayar – fish processing -
Once upon a time there were a lot more fish.
Super: Maty N’Dao – fishery worker -
Grouper: all gone!
Gilt head seabream: all gone!
Bass: all gone!
Sea perch: all gone!
All the big, high quality fish,
the fish you could catch near the cost:
it has all disappeared! All disappeared!
We did rituals to bring the fish back, but it was no good!
Only the smaller fish is left.
The bigger fish that used to be about
has all been caught. There are too many ships!
The bigger fish that used to be about has all disappeared,
it’s all gone!
Title: Dakar – city center -
Title: WWF Africa
There are some species of fish that have disappeared from the sub-region,whether those species will come back even with good managementis another question and I don't think anybody really knows the answer.
Super: Paul Siegel – WWF Africa advisor -
Title: Océanium – environmental NGO -
Swordfish, big swordfish!
Super: Haidar El Ali – environmentalist -
At one time on the Saint Louis beach here in Senegal,
you could see mountains of bass, sea perch and croakers.
You don't see any of these fish any more!
There's a fish that is a legend in Senegal
it’s the Djaregne, the gilt head seabream
but it's disappeared: you can’t find it in the fish market
and when a fisherman catches one,
he's all proud and says: “Ooooh, I've caught a Djaregne!”
My God! Twenty years ago
we used to cut of this fish's head, belly and tail,
and we just exported the back muscle, we had so many of them!
Super: Laura Drame – Socofroid GM -
“Socofroid” is a preserving plant for frozen fish.
It has a capacity of 4,000 tons, 15,000 cubic metres,
divided into four freezing chambers.
Now there is strong tendency to export it
to Europe by sea or air.
There were various rounds of negotiations
to reach the agreement with Senegal,
because for us it was very important
to have an agreement that on the one hand
ensured access to Senegalese waters
and on the other hand provided a certain guarantee
of responsibility on both sides.
I'm not saying that the Senegalese didn't want to reach an agreement.
That's not true!
The Senegalese wanted an agreement that was unbalanced -
I mean balanced - for both sides.
As far as the rounds are concerned I can't enter into details
because obviously these are confidential negotiations…
Title: Dakar – fish market -
Title: Fenagie – fishermen’s union -
I represented the fishing union, the “Fenagie”,
Super: Amadou Wade – trade unionist -
which is the only Senegalese fishermen's organisation
that went to Brussels for the negotiations
for the whole negotiation process.
We had various rounds of negotiation.
We had 8 rounds of negotiations.
The negotiation process is an interactive one
in that of course we had studies that were done
to ensure that what we wanted to obtain
was sustainable but also acceptable
not only for the government with which we were negotiating
but also for the local fishermen.
To ensure this we had to have a direct, very close relationship
not only with the European industry, but also with local industry.
We came to the ninth round of negotiations.
We weren't even invited.
None of us knew anything about it.
One fine day we hear from the radio
that the negotiations are overand the agreement has been signed!
Title: United Kingdom – London -
Title: Herald Tribune offices
Now, why West African countries conclude these fisheries agreementsat extreme disadvantage for themselves in some cases with European countries, must be a matter for some speculation.I would be very surprised if some form of corruption was not involved.Because the benefit to the people of West African countries, like Senegal, from these fisheries agreements is minimal, benefits to elites that may conclude them could be quite considerable.
Super: Charles Clover – journalist -
As far as compensation is concerned,
each year the European Union pays Senegal 16 - 18 million Euros.
In addition the shipowners pay
another 2 - 3 million euros for the fishing licence.
So not only can Senegal enjoy the fishing agreement
but it can also use these financial resources
to finance a responsible fishing policy in their waters.
We certainly need to have agreements with developed countries
but we need to manage our resources.
We need our artisanal fishermen to work.
We need the women who work in fish processing to find the fish.
We need the traders to buy the fish.
We need the economy that depends on the sea
to be a strong economy to develop the country!
And to do this you have to let the artisanal fishermen fish
not the industrial vessels that come here and take our fish stocks
and send them down to Europe!
At the end of four years of fishing agreements
all those ships,
all the dreadful consequences
for the people and the fishermen of Senegal
you'll see it wasn't worth it!
Because what we lose is much more important than what we gain
and so far not a penny of financial compensation
has reached the fishing organizations,
any organization: not a single cent!
So we don't see the money
because it's going round the offices somewhere
if it hasn't gone to line the politicians' pockets!
We don't see the fish
because it's sent directly abroad.
So what do we gain from this?
One of the main reasons why the Europeans need to fish in West African waters is because the European fish stocks are in decline. Many are critically threatened while others are on the verge and the result is that in order for fishermen to do their work , they have to find fish stocks.
Two thirds of the commercial fish stocks in Europe seas are now over -fished, drastically over - fished, below their biological replacement levels.
Title: England – harbour of Lowestoft -
It’s a struggle you know, I t didn’t use to be until eight years ago, it was a good living then. Seven years ago then it got really bad. But I love it. I love it.
Ok, when I first came down here 40 years ago at two in the morning the dock would be absolutely full and there might be up to ten vessels landing fish. They would start in that corner, go all the way up the market and even round the corner here if necessary. Hundreds and hundreds of crates of fish would be landed on the market everyday. Now you see dock today no trawler whatsoever. And the port sadly doesn’t possess deep sea trawler of its own. Still a budding market, still an important market but not with local north sea fish.
Where here we are this morning sixty boxes of fish landed, some only half full. And if I can tell you that when I started down here, that was quite long time ago the market was full, not this bit here but another bit on that hand and another bit on that hand. The market was full. And the whole market was full, probably 20 boats landing. And every boat landing probably 300 boxes.
I’m still the company secretary of Colne Shipping Company. I’m semi-retired now, I only work two days a week as I am 66 now, but I keep an eye on the company and I come in the office one or two days a week. I do a little work. But I look backwards instead of looking forwards.
Super: Hugh Sims – secretary -
This is the boardroom of the company. The picture on the wall is the gentleman who founded the company, in 1947 he started the company Mr. Claridge and this was his room, this room was set up for meetings. What I wanted to show you is this picture.And Lowestoft had one of the biggest fleets in the whole of Europe fishing for herring, perhaps 300 boats would come into the harbor. And the herring fishery employed nearly everybody in Lowestoft in the 1930‘s. after the war the herring fishing started up again but they would only fish herring for so many months and then they would change their boats and fish for white fish, for the cod the plaice and so on.
In that dock there as Donny said you could walk across the dock on the drifter flight when the herring catching was the business. There were so many drifters. The dock was absolutely packed, you could walk from one side to the dock to the other, from ship to ship to ship, right across the dock.
And gradually the herring went away until in the 1950s it finished, and by which time the white fishing had increased. And I would have thought that in the late 50s there were perhaps 200 trawlers in Lowstoft . As the boats became bigger and more expensive so there were less of them and I would have thought in the 70s there were perhaps 120 boats. By the 80s there were a 100. In the early 90s there were 80. In the late 90s there were 20. In 2002 there were 8. And in 2003 there were none, none big distance water trawler as we were used to having.
When you look it is sad. It is sad to see the decline this port has gone to. In 38 years I have come here fro 300/400 ships to a couple of dozen at the most. That is it. That is life. Life of the fisherman. It is sad. Sad. Is there anything else you want.
The examples of whole populations of fish being gradually ground down, and perhaps even wiped out,really only began to be recognized by the end of the 19th century. And it’s really been a phenomenonof the 20th and 21st centuries. It really happened in a single human lifetime that you used to be able to catch fish that was large as a man an now the same fish of the size of a man’s hand.That was how a fishermen first put it to me and it scared me.And that’s essentially what’s happened. Because of the march of technology you can now see any fish, anywhere, at any level in the water column. You can see the contours of the sea bed. And there are forms of fishing technology which enable you to catch any fish at any depth so there is nowhere to hide.
Title: Iceland – Reykjavik -
Title: Fisheries Technology Exhibition
Here in the centre of the screen we have the position of the boat given by the satellite. What I want to show you now is the same picture but in colour.The colours here show the depth, so we can see a depth of 0 metres in redand a depth of 60 metres in blue.Now if the fishermen have a target between 20 and 30 metres.What we see now is the depth between 20 and 30 metres.Here in a 2-dimensional view and here the same but in a 3-dimensional view.
We can detect the type of sea bottom that the fisherman is looking at.It may be sand, rock or coral. And afterward he can go back and look at this track and see all the areas that he likes to fish or needs to fish.The next time he can define the course through these areas and can avoid all the dangerous areas or the ones that don't suit his fishing plan
Fishermen used to work with much less accurate satellite positioning systems
and every time they steered the same course
leaving some areas completely uncontaminated
for fear of ruining their nets.
Today they sweep the seabed very accurately
so perhaps they have become exterminators but…
Fishing today is very important.
You have to pay for the boat,
you have to pay for the fuel,
and obviously you have to catch more fish.
Certainly you contribute to the destruction of the seabed but…
People want to eat fish.
It's how the market is evolving at present.
You can have from blue to deep red, and if you have blue, green or yellow it's probably plankton. If you have pale red or dark red, that's fish. Then here you can see the size of the fish, and how many fish of each size. Here you can see where it is, ther stock is under the keel of the boat.
A fisherman who doesn't keep up with modern fishing methods
is a fisherman without a future!
Title: Kayar
Super: Bayo Mor Mbaye – spiritual leader -
I put some powder and roots in the "Gri Gri" and then I give it to the fishermen.
It allows you to see the fish
and it protects you from accidents
and lets you come home safe and sound.
The sea can't do anything to you and it can't harm you,
unless it is the will of God...
Super: Mor Thiaune – fisherman -
I take the "Gri Gri" and I put it round my neck like this.
When I see the fish I get it out and I spit on it,
then I show it to the fish
and I hypnotise them and paralyse them.
The fish stay there in a big circle without moving.
So we can catch them easily.
That's how we fish in Senegal.
It's very important. Yes, it's really very important!
The world is dominated by the mystery of the future.
But there are people who have the gift of seeing into the future.
At night I have visions about what will happen in the days to come,
so I can warn the fishermen about the danger they are facing
and I warn them to make animal sacrifices...
To appease the evil spirits and thank God.
We fish at night
because the moonlight reflects on the fish scales.
It's as though they were lit up by moonlight.
If we can see this glow, we can see the fish.
Once we have located the fish,
we head towards them with our pirogues,
we surround them
so that they all group together,
and then we can catch them.
Look, I put my hat on like this and keep my head warm.
With a warm head, the heat spreads to the rest of the body.
Because it's very cold at night at sea.
Ok, I'm ready!
This is the GPS for the position of the ship.
This is the automatic pilot
to help navigation.
And this is the other automatic pilot: two pilots.
This is the long distance radio system
to talk over great distances.
This is another radio
another GPS and yet another radio.
There are two of each system.
We have two radars, one here and another there.
A plotter and two sonars
to scan the seabed.
This ship can hold 115,000 litres of diesel fuel.
And we use 2,000 litres for each shift.
2,000 litres for each shift of work.
A shift is 24 hours.
To be precise, a shift is 24 hours of work
because when we go out we never stop.
We're always on the move, and we never stop fishing!
All the fishing areas are slack here!
That's not true. Who are you trying to kid?
All the areas are slack because they're overfished.
Everybody comes here to fish!
If there's room for 20 vessels in an area, 40 go there
Senegal earns more money like that
but the fish is divided between all the vessels
and it's not profitable for anyone
except for Senegal!
But in 5 or 10 years' time, nobody will ask to come here
because there's already very little fish!
The centre of Senegal has become much more drought ridden than it was 30 years ago.Drought has encroached further and further towards the coast. Population is moving towards the coast.The last resource of people in Senegal is the sea and we are increasing pressure on that last resource at a time when we know that is declining and we know the population is growing.So we will be responsible for a gigantic human tragedy very soon, in terms of decades, very soon.We need to start putting this right very soon otherwise Europe will be seen to be responsible.
We estimate that that the boats that fish here
through agreements with the European Union
number about 600 in total.
So it's not a large number
it's not a huge number.
As far as we're concerned it's traditional for Europeans
to fish in the waters of countries with which we have fishing agreements
and you can't talk of a European invasion
as some people do when talking about these agreements.
The 500 industrial fishing boats
fish 50% of all the fish.
It's the industrial boats that catch 20% of the pelagic fish.
So the 500 foreign boats that come into our waters
catch 50% of the coastal fish
and the remaining 50% is fished by the 15,000 pirogues,
by the 70,000 fisherman,
who provide a living for 600,000 people!
Rimasarimbamba
I want so many things from life
Rimasarimbamba
You've got to have balls!
Rimasarimbamba
You mustn't be afraid of death!
Rimasarimbamba
Let's go, warrior!
Rimasarimbamba
You mustn't be afraid of death!
Rimasarimbamba
I'm frightened!
Pull!
Hunger is death!
Pull!
When you're hungry, you cry!
Pull!
Pull!
When the catch is good...
the fisherman cries for joy!
The fish cry too!
Give me the fish!
I'm not frightened of laughter and money!
So I mustn't have any pity for the fish!
You work and you break your back...
but your back becomes stronger!
Warrior!
Oh mother!
Warrior!
Warrior...
Warrior!
Come on boy!
Come on: you are not working!
Warrior!
Try to pull at the same time!
Careful, they're coming out!
Hurry up!
See if you've tied the rope properly...
Grab it here and let's tip them into the pirogue.
The great warrior!
The great warrior!
I've taken some small fish for me,
I'm going to take them home and fry them!
Yesterday was a hard day!
We cast the nets 5 times: 5 times!
It was hard yesterday because we looked for fish
in a certain place and didn't find any,
and we went to and fro several times
but I think the fish had hidden very deep
so it was impossible for us to see it.
You never know how the fishing will go.
Sometines you catch some fish and you manage to sell it,
sometines you just don't find any fish.
With the fish we caught yesterday
we didn't even pay for the fuel!
A crate weighs about 60 kg and we caught 22 crates of fish.
We sold each crate for 1 Euro,
and earned 22 Euro in all, for 22 crates: nothing!
In the end we caught some fish, we came back to harbour
and we sold 22 crates of sardines.
But a tank of petrol is 100 litres and costs 35 Euro
And so, in the end you've worked a whole night,
you've got cold and you've worn yourself out to earn nothing!
I've got ten children and they all depend on my work.
If I don't catch enough fish, they don't eat.
They all rely on me and they hope I'll earn enough...
And some are only this tall...
The fishing agreements are commercial agreements.
we're not providing development cooperation;
we act in keeping with development cooperation
but the European Union must have a commercial interest in a fishing agreement.
As I said before the agreement with Senegal
is an agreement that...
Ensures us a future,
and I am convinced tha there will be a new agreement
that is even more interesting than the present one…
That one is Daourd,
this one is Papa,
This one is Khadim,
this one is Adama,
this is Ali,
and finally this is Aziz.
This is my brother's son Papa Niay,
this my son Samba Fall Seck,
this my other son Aziz,
this one is Daourd:
all togheter we are more than 30 people!
Papa Niang,
Mamy Ndiaye,
Mama Assour
Ndiene
Mansour
Abdourahmane
There are a lot of people
who have emigrated to Italy and other European countries.
They are people who come from fishing families.
Three have gone from my family and from others too.
These people went fishing
but they say fishing no longer provides a living.
So they left their pirogues
and they say you can't live here any more
and Europe is the land of plenty.
Title: Italy – steelworks of Dalmine -
I cut steel pipes here.
I work various shifts, from 6 am to 2 pm,
from 2 pm to 10 pm, from 10 pm to 6 am.
Super: Mamadou Mbaye – former fisherman -
Tonight I work from 10 at night till 6 in the morning.
It's very hard: before I used to go fishing at night!
I was a fisherman;
my father is a great fisherman at Yoff in Senegal
and we used to go fishing as far as Kayar
and even further.
Things used to go well and I saw them go fishing.
There was fish and they made good money.
But later, when I finished school
I went fishing with them for a year and a half
but the situation had deteriorated.
Before we lived well, but not any more.
You could see there was less fish
and as time went on, things got worse.
So I decided to try to make something of my life
and not to go fishing any more.
That's why I decided to emigrate.
So that I would have money to help my family.
If the fishing had been good, I would rather have stayed in Senegal
and worked peacefully near my family...
...I would have done that willingly.
Title: A documentary by: Cafi MohamudLuca Cusani