By Dr. Ousman Gajigo
The Minister of Fisheries, Musa Drammeh, was recently quoted in the press attributing high fish prices to fuel costs. He also claimed that the lack of a fish landing port in Banjul contributes to high prices, and pointed to the absence of cold storage and fish processing facilities as additional factors. In doing so, Minister Drammeh is merely confirming what should have long been obvious to anyone paying attention: he is an unserious minister who does not care about the welfare of Gambians, and is instead weaving a demonstrably false narrative.
Let us suppose, for the sake of argument, that all the factors Minister Drammeh cited are in fact true – that the lack of cold storage, proper landing sites, and processing facilities are the main drivers of high fish prices in the country. The first natural question then is: why has this government failed to address these problems after ten years in power? Food security is among the most critical national priorities, and only about a third of Gambian households are food secure. Fish is central to the Gambian diet, serving as the primary source of protein. Any serious government would have made tackling these problems an urgent priority.
Moreover, the financial cost of addressing these infrastructure gaps is well within the means of even a poor country like The Gambia – without the need for outside financing or development aid. After all, in every State of the Nation address, the president makes a show of highlighting the millions collected from the fisheries sector. Where does that money go? The truth is that Minister Drammeh’s claims are completely unfounded, and there are several ways to expose the flaws in his arguments.
The first claim to address is the attribution of high prices to the absence of proper landing sites. The low-tech fishing boats common in the Gambian fishing industry do not require dedicated landing infrastructure – they can disembark on almost any beach. These are the same vessels, incidentally, that ferry young Gambians along irregular migration routes, and they are typical of what one finds across Senegal and Mauritania as well. While modern, larger fishing boats do require specific landing facilities, such vessels are largely absent in The Gambia. The lack of landing sites, therefore, cannot credibly explain the dramatic price increases experienced over the past two years.
The attributions to the absence of storage and processing facilities are equally unconvincing. Virtually all fish consumed locally is sold fresh. Middlemen and small-scale traders maintain their own storage, mostly in Tanji, while large quantities sold upcountry or transported to Senegal are moved immediately in refrigerated vehicles. Unlike crops and vegetables (where post-harvest losses are a genuine and serious problem) fish spoilage is not a significant issue in The Gambia. This has been the case for decades and cannot credibly explain a recent spike in fish prices.
A similar argument applies to fuel costs. While it is true that rising fuel prices increase operating costs for fishing vessels, the dramatic increase in fish prices preceded the most recent fuel price hike. Furthermore, earlier fuel price increases did not produce the kind of sharp fish price increases witnessed recently. Fuel costs, therefore, do not explain the current situation.
It would certainly benefit the local fishing industry if proper landing sites, modern cold storage, and processing facilities were developed. A serious government would have acted on these long ago. But their absence does not explain the recent surge in prices.
There are two principal factors behind the recent increase in fish prices, and both are the direct result of government failures. Minister Drammeh is promoting a false narrative precisely because the truth would reveal that the government itself is the cause of the price increase. Moreover, he is personally responsible for one of its main drivers.
The first factor is the reduction in local fish supply caused by the presence of fishmeal and fish oil processing factories, such as Golden Lead, located in Kombo South. These companies process fish for export to Southeast Asian markets, with none of their output sold domestically. Their demand for local fish has reduced availability in the local market, driving up prices. Beyond reducing supply, these companies have caused an ecological disaster in Sanyang and Gunjur, and have indirectly contributed to the depletion of fish stocks by incentivizing fishermen to catch undersized, juvenile fish.
The second factor is the flawed fishing agreement signed by the Adama Barrow government with Senegal – an agreement renewed in 2023 by none other than Minister Musa Drammeh himself. Under its terms, any fishing vessel registered in Senegal may fish in Gambian waters without local registration. This creates several serious problems. Senegalese fishing vessels far outnumber Gambian ones, and the agreement effectively opens Gambian waters to any foreign vessel registered in Senegal, eliminating Gambia’s ability to monitor their activities since they are no longer required to notify Gambian authorities. It also creates a perverse incentive for Senegalese authorities to register foreign vessels and direct them into Gambian waters. The combined effect of granting unrestricted access to the vast Senegalese fleet (and any foreign fleet operating through it) effectively guarantees the depletion of Gambia’s fish stock.
These two factors are the true causes of the depletion of fish stocks along the Gambian coast. That depletion has dramatically reduced supply and driven up prices. It has also pushed many local fishermen to catch juvenile fish in desperation, further compounding the crisis and accelerating the collapse of fish stocks.
We can see why Minister Drammeh wouldn’t want to focus on the real reasons because it would reveal his own incompetence and that of his boss.
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