The coastal town of Sanyang has a problem - everyday, fishers unload almost their entire catch here, to be taken by truck to a nearby factory, where it's turned into fishmeal. Here in southwestern Gambia, people and nature are suffering the consequences.
Overfishing by large trawlers is creating havoc all along the coast of West Africa. 90% of these vessels are foreign-owned. The Gambia is among the countries affected. It takes 4.5 kg of fish to produce 1 kg of fishmeal. In order to work efficiently, the factory needs 500 tons of fish every day, and only the large trawlers can deliver such quantities.That leaves local fishermen with even less to catch.
Muhammed Jabang and his association have been protesting against the pollution from the fishmeal factory since it first began operating in 2018. The environmental activists are now trying to bring about change via dialogue.