STNMTZ_20180509_6530.tif | George Steinmetz

Artisanal fishing boats offloading their catch on the beach of Nouakchott.

Mauritania has one of the most productive fisheries in West Africa, but most Mauritanians are desert people who don't eat fish, making for a lucrative export business.

The official annual catch in Mauritania is 900,000 tons, but reconstructed catch estimates are more than 2M tons. Some 400,000 tons are landed overseas by foreign vessels, 380,000 tons are landed in Nouadhibou, 120,000 tons are landed at other Mauritanian ports.

The Mauritania government has recently declared that the fish meal factories must start converting the pelagic catch to other higher-value products.

The small pelagic fishery has been migrating northward some 5° (300NM) every 10 years for the past few decades due to changing sea temperatures, and increased fishing pressure.

Filename: STNMTZ_20180509_6530.tif
Copyright: ©2018 George Steinmetz
Image Size: 5955x3965 / 67.6MB; www.GeorgeSteinmetz.com; seafood fishing aerial Nouadhibou Mauritania overfishing motorized pirogues food fishing boats Atlantic Ocean
Contained in galleries: Global Fisheries

Artisanal fishing boats offloading their catch on the beach of Nouakchott.<br />
<br />
Mauritania has one of the most productive fisheries in West Africa, but most Mauritanians are desert people who don't eat fish, making for a lucrative export business.<br />
<br />
The official annual catch in Mauritania is 900,000 tons, but reconstructed catch estimates are more than 2M tons. Some 400,000 tons are landed overseas by foreign vessels, 380,000 tons are landed in Nouadhibou, 120,000 tons are landed at other Mauritanian ports.<br />
<br />
The Mauritania government has recently declared that the fish meal factories must start converting the pelagic catch to other higher-value products.<br />
<br />
The small pelagic fishery has been migrating northward some 5° (300NM) every 10 years for the past few decades due to changing sea temperatures, and increased fishing pressure.