The British newspaper The Independent recently released its coverage of a problem that many West-African countries currently struggle with; fish stocks, important for human consumption, “being snatched by foreign food companies to feed factory-farmed animals – and ultimately the populations of wealthier countries“.
Aurora Foundation currently runs an extensive fisheries project in Sierra Leone, aimed specifically at combating the negative impact of foreign countries, on fish processing in West Africa, by building knowledge about fishing and fish processing.
According to the Independent, a number of fishmeal plants have been built in the recent years, turning fish, a vital source of protein for humans, into powder and farm-animal feed for foreign countries, – consequently creating food insecurity in West-Africa.
The problem seems to gradually increase, and it is pointed out in The Independent that the biomass in Senegalese waters has been reduced by more than half in recent years, with fish landings dropping rapidly.
By building knowledge of fishing and processing, as Aurora Foundation does in Sierra Leone, it is possible to maintain or increase the population’s protein intake, to help locals to compete with foreign vessels and enhance prosperity that reduces the feasibility of powdering fish into fishmeal.
In order to stabilize the continent, food security is one of the most important factors.
