Facing economic pressure, Gambian fishermen are fighting trawlers - and each other

Gambian crews on international trawlers fishing on the country's shores have become the accidental targets of local fishermen's anger, whose livelihoods are threatened by the foreign vessels' aggressive fishing strategies.

Videos exclusively obtained by The Associated Press document an emerging problem in the fight for dominance between Gambian fishermen and foreign-owned commercial vessels in West African waters.

Local fishermen, angered by what they call illegal encroachment and sabotage by the foreign vessels, confronted one of the boats, the Egyptian-owned Abu Islam.

One video shows the unintended result: A local fisherman, part of the foreign vessel's crew, writhes with severe burns from the arson attack by his countrymen.

Gambians are now fighting Gambians at sea, driven by market forces — and foreign appetites – beyond their control.

A reform that made it worse

The problem came from attempted reforms. To give locals more say, and pay, in commercial fishing, Gambia’s government now requires foreign vessels operating offshore to carry a certain percentage of Gambian crew.

Those locals have become accidental targets of an anger they understand well, after trying to compete with the Chinese-owned and other foreign vessels with little more than small wooden boats and their bare hands.

The AP reviewed more than 20 videos showing confrontations between smaller fishing boats and industrial fishing trawlers since 2023. The burned man, Kawsu Leigh, said he is surprised to have survived, and unhappy that Gambians are fighting each other.

“It’s like most of them, when they are going for fishing, it’s as if they’re going for war,” said Abdou Sanyang, secretary general of the Association of Gambia Sailors. The fighting threatens to tear fishing communities apart, while overfishing to supply seafood buyers around the world undermines livelihoods for everyone.

There are concerns that the fish population off Gambia's waters could collapse in the coming years.

That would be a business and environmental disaster in a small country with two main economic drivers: tourism and seafood.

Torn nets and no solution

Brothers Famara Nduru and Salif Nduru say they have lost more than half of their fishing nets to foreign trawlers that pull at the nets and damage them.

They said foreign vessels have become increasingly aggressive since the current government of President Adama Barrow took over after the ouster of former dictator Yahya Jammeh in 2017.

Gambia reopened its waters to foreign-owned vessels that year.

Famara said fishing nets are often cut at night, when foreign vessels go beyond authorized zones. Local fishermen have exclusive fishing rights within 9 nautical miles from shore, but they claim the trawlers come as close as 5. That has made clashes inevitable.

He and his brother once had 15 nets. Now they have three. A single net line can cost $100, making replacement almost impossible in a country where the per capita income is under $1,000.

An underfunded navy cannot patrol

Gambia’s government did not respond to questions from the AP.

One significant case fishing conflict has reached the courts in Gambia and another is being prepared. One is the arson attack involving Leigh’s vessel. The other is a collision last year between a foreign trawler, identified by local fishermen as the Majilac 6, and a local vessel that killed three local fishermen. They are rare cases in a country where the pursuit of justice takes time and cash that many people don’t have. The government has been trying to patrol the seas.

In July, Gambia's military said the navy had detained three vessels for violations including fishing without authorization and the use of illegal fishing gear.

In March last year, before the deadly collision, armed maritime interdiction units with Gambia’s navy detained eight foreign trawlers for offenses including fishing in protected waters, fishing without a valid license, misreporting catches and using undersized mesh, which collects fish smaller than allowed. It was a rare deployment.

Gambia’s poorly resourced navy has relied on international support from nonprofit organizations to watch its waters.