Gambian fish stocks are rapidly depleting. Fish prizes on local markets are skyrocketing. Gambia has three fishmeal factories and the fourth one is being build as we speak in Denton Bridge. The amounts of fish that are processed daily are beyond anyone’s imagination and are totally uncontrolled. The factories are pumping highly nitrogenous and arsenic laden fishmeal waste into the ocean where tourists swim.
Our own government and the NEA are the biggest threats for our public health, fishing- and tourism sector
The future is not looking bright. Right now, it’s mainly the investors and the government who benefit from the plundering of Gambian resources. Local people are seeing and smelling a destructed home and environment. It’s not only the Chinese investors that lack any form of respect for our laws and environment. The weakest link in this case is the Barrow Government who are allowing all this destruction to happen. They are aware of it, but they like the money.
A look in Golden Lead Fishmeal Factory. This is just a moment of one day., imagine that every day this amount of fish is taken away. And this is just one of the three fishmeal factories.
We are creating a famine
The government knows the fish stocks cannot handle this much pressure. They know that the fish prices for local people are rising to almost unaffordable. They know that if things continue like this, we all end up in a famine. These investors will pack their backs, fly back to China and build a really big house from all the money they made.
We are dealing with a government that allows these investors to steal all our resources and pollute our environment. Hereby the fishmeal factories are dumping thousands of liters of highly arsenic waste water. Local people say the factories brought no benefits to them as a community. Instead it poses threats to our marine life, environment, health and sources of income.
How Gambia Is Selling Its Tuna For 136 Euro Per Ton To The EU
Approved by the NEA to dump highly arsenic waste water where tourists swim
Right now, all three fishmeal factories have installed pipelines that are dumping their waste water into the ocean. Yes, next to the ‘paradise’ beaches where people swim.
Within 14-kilometers radius of our coastline, three fishmeal factories are given the green light to dump highly nitrogenous and arsenic laden fishmeal waste in into the sea. This ill-advise move by our environment ministry will effectively kill the tourism sector in Kombo South and the effect it will have on our fragile ecosystem cannot be quantified. This has to stop now or we shall stop it ourselves.
Huge clouds of highly nitrogenous and arsenic laden fishmeal waste in the ocean. This picture was shot at Gunjur Golden Lead Fish Factory.
Temporary closure of the Nissim Fishmeal Factory
The Nissim Fishmeal Factory, which was temporarily closed down by the government in June for operating without a treatment plant, are set to resume operations after fulfilling requirements. This was revealed during a meeting between the National Environment Agency NEA, Sanyang environmentalists, Alkalo, VDC and other stakeholders.
During the meeting, the NEA informed the audience that the factory has now met requirements to operate and will soon re-commence work under a treatment plant and recommends the erection of a disposal pipe 300 meters into the Atlantic Ocean. The Agency assured the villagers that the stench and foul odour they previously endured would be minimized under the new requirement.
In response, Sanyang environmentalists expressed outrage. They complained that the disposal of a waste pipe into the sea will further escalate damages they have long cried against. The pictures below are shot on 3-12-2018 behind the Nissim factory in Sanyang.
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- The area is prepared to install the new pipeline to the ocean in Sanyang
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- The pipeline ready to be installed
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- The area is prepared to install the new pipeline to the ocean in Sanyang
The factory has not brought any benefits for the local people
The company started work on its disposal pipe on Monday while in a counter move hundreds of young people gathered at the Sanyang beach coastline to fill up a hole dug by the company to discharge its sewage through a pipe into the sea.
Local youths are fed up with fishmeal factories and want a healthy environment. Picture made during the protest against Sanyang’s Fishmeal Factory.
Fishmeal factories are bringing no benefits tot he local community
According to Pa Ousman Sanyang, the VDC is not aware of the latest developments because “there is no mou between the factory and the community. “We want to tell the government to cancel the deal as the factory has not brought any benefits to us as a community and instead it poses threats to our marine life, environment and health and sources of income,” he said.
Big animals washing up with ‘mysterious’ causes of death
Since the factories are operating and dumping their highly arsenic waste water, many reports of death animals washed up the Gambia’s beaches where coming in. We collected all this evidence to use in this article. The footage we have is shot by local youths, environmentalists and even tourists.
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- A dead dolphin near Gunjur found in June 2018
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- A dead Caspian Stern found dead close to the Golden Lead factory in Gunjur. Giant fish eating birds. Found dead near Golden Lead Factory
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- Another dead dolphin found close to the tourist area eaten by vultures in july this year
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- Dead turtle found on Kartong beach
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- Dead Dolphin found around Kololi in july 2018
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- This dead pilot whale washed ashore 21 november 2018 near Gunjur
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- This turtle was found dead on the beach. Also near Gunjur
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- Dead turtle buried on the beach in march 2018
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- This turtle was found by a tourist
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- Tourist were spreading pictures with other dead mammals found on the beach on Facebook.
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- Another dead dolphin location unknown but it was this summer in the Gambia
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- This dead whale was found on the beach between Kartong and Gunjur
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- Gunjur’s beaches were covered in dead fish
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- The head of the pilot whale found 21 november 2018
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- Even dead sea snakes are washing up.
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- Local youths in argue with Golden Lead Factory owners, Gunjur, The Gambia
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- We had many reports of dead turtles around Kartong and Gunjur
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- Local kids look at their Bolong Fenyo Wildlife Reserve whcih was poisoned by the Chinese Golden Lead Company in Gunjur.
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- Some days many dead fish are washing up
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- Local youth are fed up with fishmeal factories and want a healthy environment
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- Local youth are fed up with fishmeal factories and want a healthy environment
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- This dead turtle was found in the Kombo area 5-12-2018
Mismanagement of environmental issues is leading to deaths
The revolution and awareness among Gambian youths is coming up. Recently, another protest against illegal sand mining in Faraba, two protesters were killed by police violence and 9 were wounded. A report was made up to analyze the situation so another Faraba incident will not happen again. This was the advice to the government:
What is the essence of commissions if authorities are not taking heed of their recommendations? We can only hope the government will stop the Fishmeal Factories before all hell will break loose. The suffering of the people has been long enough now. This is not development but pure destruction.
Source: Green World Warriors
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