Google – AFP, 23 January 2014
 |
The Russian
trawler 'Oleg Naïdenov'is moored in Dakar on January 5, 2014
(AFP/File,
Seyllou)
|
Dakar — A
Russian trawler impounded by Senegal which accused it of illegal fishing has
left the port of Dakar following an agreement by Moscow to pay $1 million, a
military source said Thursday.
The
Senegalese navy official in charge of monitoring the ship -- impounded in the
capital for almost three weeks -- told AFP the Oleg Naydenov "left the
port of Dakar yesterday evening, it is no longer here".
The ship's
release follows an announcement by Russia's fishing authority that it would pay
the $1 million (750,000-euro) "deposit", while Senegal referred to it
as a fine.
Senegal
impounded the Oleg Naydenov on January 4 after accusing it of fishing without a
permit in its waters, causing an uproar in the Russian press.
Senegalese
Fisheries Minister Haidar El-Ali said on Wednesday he had agreed to the payment
because going to court "would take a lot of time and the outcome would not
be guaranteed".
El-Ali, a
renowned environmentalist turned minister who has long fought for the west
African nation's waters, said on Wednesday: "Senegal has shown its determination
to manage its fishing resources well."
After he
became fisheries minister in 2012, El-Ali cancelled the licences of more than
20 foreign trawlers amid growing resentment among locals whose 30-foot canoes
could not compete with a heavily subsidised European Union fleet of
10,000-tonne factory ships.
But non-EU
trawlers are continuing to overfish the coastline, and families are finding it
increasingly difficult to source the main ingredient for Senegal's national
dish, a fish and rice meal known as tieboudienne.
Related Articles:
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.