In The Gambia, industrial fishing operations began in 1968, with the establishment of a British fishing company called the Atlantic Marine Products Company.

According to Asber Mendy, a senior fisheries officer at the Department of State for Fisheries, there have been a lot of industrial fishing activities in Gambian waters, with vessels coming in through the Reciprocal Fishing Agreement between the Republic of Senegal and The Gambia as well as the Fisheries Access Agreement with the European Union through the Joint Ventures with Gambia.

According to information gathered by the Observer Fisheries column from Mr Mendy, there are presently seven locally registered companies with land-based processing facilities. Of these, two have three factory vessels with several so-called briefcase companies operating as industrial fisheries companies.

Out of the seven companies with land-based facilities, only two operate fishing vessels. There has been evidence of closure and demise of several industrial fishing companies and fish factories. Indications are there that the seven fish processing factories currently operating are of relatively low health and average product quality standards.

Furthermore, Mendy’s information revealed that the full benefits of the reciprocal fishing agreement with Senegal are not being realised, as the Gambian fishing vessels operating under this agreement are still landing their fish catches in foreign ports and revenues from the exports of these fish catches are not reflected in the Gambian economy.

It is unfortunate that the policies Of the Fisheries Department which accelerated the development of the artisan fisheries sub-sector from 1983-1993 could not transform The Gambia’s fisheries into industrial fisheries due to some physical, technical and economic, as well as institutional and social constraints facing the fisheries sector.