Four decades of EU-Senegal fisheries agreements: Sustainability gaps, governance limits and local realities

This article analyses the evolution of fishing agreements between the European Union (EU) and Senegal from 1979 to 2024, by cross-referencing political, economic, social, and ecological dimensions. It highlights a significant gap between the stated ambitions (sustainability, equitable partnership) and the concrete outcomes on the ground. The study, based on a process-tracing method, reveals a persistent under-utilisation of reference tonnages by European fleets, weak implementation of sectoral support in Senegal, limited social acceptability among artisanal fishing actors, and ineffective joint governance. Ecologically, marine ecosystems are degraded, and several stocks are overexploited. These findings raise questions about the EU’s political coherence and the actual relevance of the agreements in the Senegalese context. The article notably recommends strengthening the role of the SRFC for better regional coordination on shared stocks and a collective position in negotiations with the EU.