Seafood Champions

The West African Journalists Network for Responsible Fisheries (REJOPRAO) – 2010 Seafood Champion

The West African Journalists Network for Responsible Fisheries (REJOPRAO) is an organization of journalists from West Africa whose main objective is to increase awareness with the public, decision makers and fishing industry representatives on the importance of sustainable fisheries and the role of ecosystem management. REJOPRAO does this through field inquiries, media programs and publications on fair and sustainable fisheries. The organization’s work focuses in particular on interactions with coastal fishing communities, helping to represent voices that often get lost in the global discussion of sustainable fisheries.

REJOPRAO received the 2010 Seafood Champion Award in Brussels at the European Seafood Exposition. Read REJOPRAO's speech here.

Seafood Choices: What is your favorite seafood?

Jedna Deida, REJOPRAO: Prawns, but I rarely eat them now, only at big banquets. They’ve become like caviar these days.

How did you get interested in the issue of sustainable seafood?

It wasn’t an accident. I was born in a harbor. I grew up to the sound of the waves and the coming and going of the fishermen. There were plenty of seafood and everything caught was consumed directly by the local inhabitants. However, rampant and unrestrained industrialization, the invention of new fishing techniques and above all the lack of development of regulations left the small producers who supplied our port out in the cold. So once I qualified as a journalist, I quite naturally concentrated my efforts on defending small, local producers. Since 2006, I have been campaigning more generally within the network of journalists for responsible fishing in West Africa (REJOPRAO), fighting against the overexploitation of fishery resources in our territorial waters and for the protection of the biomass.

How would you describe your philosophy on ocean conservation?

I think that, today, even if it is in ways that are not easily perceived, everyone, from politicians to industries, retailers and producers is facing the fact that our oceans’ resources cannot last forever, that some stocks are dangerously low and that these resources need to be shared with all of humanity. A fish caught in Mauritania or in West Africa is often served on a European or American plate. Unfortunately, too much fish is either taken from the mouths of Africans or caught illegally within our waters. But the affluent are realizing that they have a moral responsibility and this should, I hope, reverse the situation, especially when a recent report reveals that our resources are being plundered and that Africa has lost over two billion dollars due to IUU fishing. To paraphrase famous researcher, Daniel Pauly, we need to realize that "there’s another world beneath the ocean”. A world that lives according to rules governing relations, habitat and habits – a world upon which Man has imposed himself. Having burnt the surface of the earth, Man, in his arrogance and quest for wealth, plunged his hands into the depths of the ocean and obtained the same alarming results. He transforms everything he touches and not always for the better. The oceans could have been a back-up food store but they have not escaped Man’s delusions of grandeur. By unbalancing the environment, Man may well be digging his own grave. Arable land has shrunk to practically nothing, oceans are plundered and he has not found an alternative to the sources that he wastes unconsciousnessly.

How has your philosophy changed what fish you eat?

Where I come from, despite the need for protein and the ghost of famine, we only eat what we don’t export. Instead of shellfish, we eat deep-sea fish such as scad or sardelle whose commercial value has not yet whetted any appetites. That's practically all that escapes our country's export sector. What is more, these products only supply markets in major ports. Some inland regions do not even have fresh fish due to lack of electricity, long distances or low buying power. All the same, we are trying to raise awareness among political leaders and even among fishermen of the importance of responsible practices of sustainable fishing. However, this fight is countered by the preferential fishing agreements that our countries make with others.

Why do you feel it’s important to write about the issue of sustainable seafood?

The conservation of fish resources is a challenge for African countries. We are pleased by the application of the EU directive on IUU fishing, the EU being Africa's main partner for the fishing sector. However, the increase in underhanded fishing techniques, the overexploitation of seafood resources including shellfish due to agreements between countries, is continuing to put our local fishermen at a disadvantage. Our future and that of the next generations is at stake. I would even go as far as saying that our survival depends on the conservation of this natural diversity. We are faced with a huge challenge but our countries, those that want to, do not have the means to control and protect these resources. It is encouraging that western industries are now aware of the situation and the rarity of products. However, we must not lose sight of conserving our resources to enable us to satisfy our nutritional needs and combat hunger and famine, the threat of which unfortunately still hangs over this continent. To do so, wealthy countries have to be aware of this interdependence and accept that they cannot go on drawing on resources forever just to satisfy the needs of their markets.

Have your readers noticed?

Not only have they noticed, they have experienced it first hand. It is much harder to catch a fish to grill even though they live on the coast that is supposedly inhabited by the most fish in the world. They feel it all the more because fish was previously an abundant source of food for their families but is now a rarity. There is much frustration, a feeling that things are not shared equally, of injustice in this new world disorder where countries that have become rich through industrialization and technological supremacy impose the perverse effects of their rhythms of consumption on poor countries. It’s an absolute paradox. Poor countries are supporting developed economies. Moreover, many of our readers share the feeling that industrialized countries live at our expense.

What trends have you noticed in seafood or fisheries in the past 10 years in your region?

The trend is obvious. Reckless over-exploitation has led to seafood becoming a rarity. Measures such as halting fishing for several months have proved that breeding cycles do not coincide with the efforts made. The situation is therefore serious as the tendency is to catch more and more, and stocks are getting dangerously low and are now insufficient. Scientists in various countries have been raising the alarm for years but today, politicians, no doubt encouraged by budget subsidies and greedy industry, refuse to face facts. It cannot continue indefinitely…Today it is Africa who is complaining but tomorrow it will another continent’s turn...Humanity must be warned that careful use of its resources is the only way to prevent them from disappearing completely.

Posted May 2010