, a nonprofit journalism organization based in Washington, D.C., traveled to West Africa for an offshore patrol where hundreds of Chinese and other fishing boats trawl for fish meal production, cratering the local food source and polluting the coastline.
Gunjur, a town of some 15 thousand people, sits on the Atlantic coastline of southern Gambia, the smallest country in mainland Africa. In the spring of 2017, the town’s white-sand beaches were full of activity. Fishermen steered long, vibrantly painted wooden canoes, known as pirogues, toward the shore, where they transferred their still-fluttering catch to women waiting at the water’s edge.
But on the morning of May 22, 2017, the Gunjur community woke to discover that the Bolong Fenyo lagoon had turned a cloudy crimson overnight. Dead fish floated on the surface. Some residents wondered if the apocalyptic scene was an omen delivered in blood. More likely, water fleas in the lagoon had turned red in response to sudden changes in pH or oxygen levels. Soon, there were reports that many of the area’s birds were no longer nesting near the lagoon.
Golden Lead, as well as other factories, was rapidly built to meet exploding global demand for fish meal, which is exported to the United States, Europe and Asia to be used for aquaculture. West Africa is among the world’s fastest-growing producers of it: More than 50 processing plants operate along the shores of Mauritania, Senegal, Guinea-Bissau and Gambia. And the volume of fish they consume is enormous.
Source: News Formal (newsformal.com)