2. International Agreements 



5. Shipbuilding 



The Gambia maintains bilateral agreements with 

 both Senegal and the European Community (EC). 

 Both agreements are mainly licensing agreements. 

 As a result of this, vessels can be licensed to fish in 

 the Gambian Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), 

 according to the total tonnages for each class of 

 vessel as set out in the agreement. Senegal and the 

 Gambia have an a agreement about the number and 

 gross tons of the other country's vessels that each 

 country will allow to fish in its waters. EC-flagged 

 vessels pay a fee for access to the resources, 

 research, and training of some Gambians that are 

 placed as observers on each vessel. From 1989 to 

 1992 the sums paid were $4.8 million for access 

 rights, $100,000 for research, and $206 for training. 4 



3. Joint Ventures 



The only known joint ventures in the Gambia are 

 GB International, B.B. and Sons, and the now 

 defunct Pelican Seafood. These are all seafood 

 processing companies. There are no agreements that 

 govern fishery joint ventures in the Gambia. 



4. Aid Programs 



There are currently only two fishery aid 

 programs in the Gambia: the Inland Artisanal 

 Fisheries Development Project (IAFDP) and the 

 Japanese Bakau Project. The IAFDP, funded by the 

 Italian Government, is an extension of the community 

 fisheries concept. The project has storage, fish 

 smoking and drying, and communication facilities at 

 a number of project sites in the country. The IAFDP 

 also extends revolving loan funds, allowing 

 fishermen to finance engines and related gear. The 

 recently opened Bakau project was funded by the 

 Japanese Government at a cost of $4 million. This 

 project, similar in nature to the IAFDP, has an ice 

 plant capable of producing 3 tons of ice daily, a 

 chilled storage room, and two insulated trucks (each 

 with a 2-ton capacity). There is a proposal for the 

 construction of a fishing port to benefit industrial 

 fishing firms which incur delays and other problems 

 when landing their catch at the current port at Banjul. 

 Discussions are under way with the Japanese 

 Government and the Islamic Development Bank for 

 funding. 



There is no shipbuilding industry in the Gambia 

 and hence, commercial fishing vessels must be 

 imported. Equipment to repair vessels must be 

 imported. Repair facilities for vessels up to 500 tons 

 are available in the country. 



6. Foreign Fishing 



The local port serves as a supply or 

 transshipment point for distant-water fleets. It is not 

 known with certainty the extent of the distant-water 

 fishing taking place within the EEZ. However, it is 

 estimated from previous aerial surveillance photos 

 that 20-30 vessels are fishing within the 12-mile zone 

 on any given day. Table 1 provides details on the 

 number of vessels licensed and their country of origin 

 from 1985 through the first half of 1993. The more 

 popular species targeted are shrimp, lobster, 

 cephalopods, tuna, red snapper, barracuda, sole fish 

 and sompat grunts. 



7. Enforcement 



The Marine Company of the Gambia National 

 Army is charged with patrolling and enforcing any 

 violations of the fisheries act. Currently, their two 

 old British-supplied vessels cannot fully patrol the 

 EEZ. However, under the Department of Defense's 

 biodiversity program, the U. S. Government will 

 provide a new 51 -foot patrol vessel to upgrade the 

 Marine unit patrol capability. In some ways the 

 separation of regulatory power under the Department 

 of Fisheries, and enforcement under the Gambian 

 National Army, has inhibited fisheries management, 

 but the situation should improve. Fifty-three vessels 

 were arrested from July 1987 to June 1992 and a 

 total of $1,210,790 in fines imposed (see table 2). 



