In a statement, the ministry of Fisheries and Maritime Affairs said it had canceled the licenses after gathering all the background information relating to protocols allowing foreign vessels to exploit the migratory pelagic resources in the waters under Senegalese jurisdiction.
The new president Macky Sall had already declared, in a speech on 3 April, that he is committed to reviewing the conditions for granting fishing licenses and is taking a firm stand against pirate ships and pillaging of the country's fish.
Greenpeace welcomed the decision of the Senegalese government to cancel the licences for the trawlers from Russia, Comoros, Lithuania, Saint Vincent Grenadine and Belize.
These kinds of licences are a direct threat to employment and food security for millions of Senegalese who have been dependent on fishing for centuries, Raoul Monsembula, Oceans Campaigner for Greenpeace, said.
Fishing Licences Cancelled for Foreign Trawlers
SENEGAL - The government of Senegal has canceled 29 fishing authorisations granted to foreign trawlers targeting small pelagic species. The boats involved were out of the Senegalese EEZ after the 30 April, 2012.
by Lucy Towers
