MARIA TOMAS-RODRIGUEZ
Fishing

This picture was taken in at Joal port, a major fishing center south of Senegal's capital, Dakar. Women and children gather around the pirogues (fishing canoes) to catch any fish that may fall from the baskets. Most of the fish caught daily will go to foreign enterprises that pay a slightly higher price of what local people can afford.
Some locals say there are times when they are not able to buy a single crate of fish for a whole month.
The situation has deteriorated significantly since foreign enterprises started springing up along the coast, producing meal for fish farming and stock breeding in Europe and Asia. Over the past three years, 11 plants have been built between the capital Dakar and Joal, this accounts for about a third of the country's coastline.
The atmosphere at Joal’s beach was awkward, people’s desperation could be perceived. Unemployment and low salaries are the main reasons why hundreds of youngsters try to leave for Europe in search of greener pastures.

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