Members of the community reported to the Ministry of Fisheries in May last year that the eco tourism industry in Kartong was under threat due to the discharge of toxic waste. Two others – the JXYG factory in Kartong and the Nassim fishmeal company in Sanyang – have both re-opened in recent months after temporary closures following complaints about their waste disposal methods. Golden Lead is one of three Chinese-owned fishmeal plants currently operating out of the Gambia. With demand pushing up prices, the fish is too expensive, or if the catches are small, the fishmeal factories will take priority.Ī Chinese fishmeal factory by the beach in Kartong village Jobe, a widow and single mother, has been struggling to feed her young children since the opening of Golden Lead. Matilda Jobe is a 29-year-old fish seller working at the beach in Gunjur, one of the biggest fish landing sites along the Gambia’s 80km Atlantic coast. They also supply to a network of third parties who take the fish from the coast to inland markets or for export to countries such as Mali or Ivory Coast.īut with the factories taking the lion’s share of the catches, trade has plummeted for these women and others working in the supply chain. ![]() On the frontline of those losses are local female fish processors who buy from the artisanal fishermen and smoke the fish, or sell it fresh at the local market. ![]() The fishmeal business is wreaking havoc on the environment, local employment, food security and the tourism economy, scientists, Gambian activists and locals have warned. Overseas business interests and attractive global prices for fishmeal are driving demand for species such as sardinella, and, as a result, are taking a crucial source of protein from the plates of the poorest Gambians while leaving large swaths of the community out of work.
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