DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Overfishing by foreign vessels is decimating fish stocks in the West African country of Senegal, which is in turn fueling migration to Spain, according to a report released Tuesday.
The Environmental Justice Foundation, a London-based group specializing in environmental and human rights issues, said illegal overfishing and destructive practices by foreign vessels are responsible for increased irregular migration to Spain. It based its conclusions on interviews with fishermen in Spain and Senegal and its prior research on foreign overfishing.
The group found that 57% of fish stocks in Senegal are in a “state of collapse,” with foreign vessels playing a significant role in declining numbers. Its analysis showed 43.7% of licensed vessels in Senegal are foreign-controlled, predominantly of Spanish and Chinese origin.
As fish populations dwindle, local fishermen are facing income loss, and many have turned to migration as a last resort. Fishing is an important economic sector in Senegal that employs 3% of the workforce.
Irregular migration to the Canary Islands almost doubled in 2024, according to the Spanish Interior Ministry, reaching 46,843. While exact figures aren’t known due to a lack of information on departures from West Africa, Senegal is one of the top three nationalities of arrivals to the Spanish islands.
The Atlantic route from West Africa to the Canary Islands is one of the deadliest in the world. The Spanish migrant rights group Walking Borders estimates the victims were in the thousands last year.
Migrants and former fishermen in the Canary Islands told the Environmental Justice Foundation that the treacherous journey to Spain was a last resort, a way to provide for families when fishing in Senegal could no longer put food on the table.
“If I was able to gain enough money in fishing, I would never have come to Europe,” said Memedou Racine Seck.
Local activists in Senegal have voiced their frustration with foreign overfishing and its contribution to the migration crisis. Karim Sall, President of AGIRE, a Senegalese organization operating in the Joal-Fadiouth marine protected area, condemned foreign nations for their role in the crisis.
“I get so angry when (foreign nations) complain about immigration because they are the real pirates and what they did is worse than clandestine immigration. It’s theft, plundering our resources to feed their own inhabitants while we suffer,” said Sall.
Industrial foreign fleets, many of which use bottom trawling techniques, are exacerbating the crisis. These vessels drag heavy nets across the seafloor, indiscriminately catching young fish and destroying marine ecosystems like seagrass and coral reefs, which are vital for fish reproduction. As a result, fish stocks are unable to recover, deepening the hardships of local fishing communities and eaters. Fish plays an important role in food security in Senegal, especially for protein consumption. Due to declining fish stocks, consumption per capita in Senegal has fallen from 29 kilograms per year to 17.8 kilograms per person.
The report also pointed to a lack of transparency in fishing licenses and inadequate government management of fisheries as contributing factors. Despite efforts by the Senegalese government to address the crisis, experts warn that without stricter regulations on industrial foreign fleets, the situation will worsen.
Migrant and former fisherman Souleymane Sady, who arrived in the Canary Islands in 2020, summed up the situation fishermen in Senegal face: “Since the government cannot regulate the boats and we cannot work normally, we choose to run away from the country to come for stability,” he said.
Follow AP’s Africa coverage at: https://apnews.com/hub/africa
FILE - Various species of fish are displayed at the Soumbedioune fish market in Dakar, Senegal, May 31, 2022. (AP Photo/Grace Ekpu, File)
BRIDGEWATER, NJ (AP) — NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte is set to meet President Donald Trump this week on the heels of the U.S. leader announcing plans to sell NATO allies weaponry that it can then pass on to Ukraine.
NATO announced on Sunday that Rutte will be in Washington on Monday and Tuesday and would hold talks with Trump, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as well as members of Congress. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the visit.
A top ally of Trump, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, said Sunday that the conflict is nearing an inflection point as Trump shows growing interest in helping Ukraine fight back Russia. It's a cause that Trump, who during his campaign made quickly ending the war a top priority, had previously dismissed as being a waste of U.S. taxpayer money.
“In the coming days, you’ll see weapons flowing at a record level to help Ukraine defend themselves,” Graham said on CBS' “Face the Nation. He added, ”One of the biggest miscalculations Putin has made is to play Trump. And you just watch, in the coming days and weeks, there’s going to be a massive effort to get Putin to the table."
The Rutte visit comes as Trump last week teased that he would make a “major statement” on Russia on Monday and as Ukraine struggles to repel massive and complex air assaults launched by Russian forces.
Graham and Democrat Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, who appeared with South Carolina lawmaker on CBS, said there is also growing consensus on Capitol Hill and among European officials about tapping some of the $300 billion in Russian assets frozen by Group of Seven countries early in the war to help Ukraine.
“It's time to do it,” Blumenthal said.
Rubio said Friday that some of the U.S.-made weapons that Ukraine is seeking are deployed with NATO allies in Europe. Those weapons could be transferred to Ukraine, with European countries buying replacements from the U.S., he said.
“It’s a lot faster to move something, for example, from Germany to Ukraine than it is to order it from a (U.S.) factory and get it there,” Rubio told reporters last week during visit to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
French Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu in an interview published Sunday in La Tribune Dimanche said that European officials have been making the case to the Trump administration to bolster air defense capabilities with any coming packages.
He added that France is in a “capacity hole” and will have to wait until next year before being able to provide Ukraine new ground-air missiles.
Trump is also facing calls from Republicans and Democrats as well as European allies to support legislation in the Senate that aims to cripple Russia’s oil industry and hit Moscow with U.S. sanctions for its ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
The legislation, in part, calls for a 500% tariff on goods imported from countries that continue to buy Russian oil, gas, uranium and other exports. It would have an enormous impact on the economies of Brazil, China and India, which account for the vast majority of Russia’s energy trade.
“The big offender here is China, India and Brazil,” Graham said. “My goal is to end this war. And the only way you are going to end this war is to get people who prop up Putin— make them choose between the American economy and helping Putin.”
That revenue is critical in helping keep the Russian war machine humming as the U.S. and Europe have imposed significant import and export bans on a wide range of goods to and from Russia, affecting sectors like finance, energy, transport, technology, and defense.
Trump for months had threatened, but held off on, imposing new sanctions against Russia’s oil industry.
But the Republican leader has become increasingly exasperated with Putin in recent days and has laid into the Russian leader for prolonging the war.
“We get a lot of bull---- thrown at us by Putin, if you want to know the truth,” Trump said last week in an exchange with reporters. “He’s very nice all the time, but it turns out to be meaningless.”
Congress has been prepared to act on the legislation, sponsored by Graham and Blumenthal, for some time.
The bill has overwhelming support in the Senate, but Republican leadership has been waiting for Trump to give the green light before moving ahead with it.
The White House had expressed some reservations about the legislation. Trump made clear he wants full authority over the waiver process to lift the sanctions, tariffs or other penalties, without having to cede control to Congress.
Under the initial bill, the president “may terminate” the penalties under certain circumstances, but immediately reimpose them if the violations resume. Graham has said the president would be allowed to waive the sanctions, for 180 days, and could also renew a waiver.
Some Democratic lawmakers have expressed concerns about the waivers. But Blumenthal downplayed the differences and said the legislation would give Trump a “sledgehammer” to utilize on Putin.
“The waiver language we will have in this bill is very much like the provisions have existed in past similar measures,” Blumenthal said. He added: “What I think is most important right now is our unity."
Associated Press writer Angela Charlton in Paris contributed reporting.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte attends a news conference with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz during a meeting at the chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, July 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
