Sustainable development consequences of European Union participation in Senegal’s Marine Fishery $ Jonathan Stilwell a,Ã , Alassane Samba b , Pierre Failler c , Francis Lalo¨ e d a Centre d’Economie et d’Ethique pour l’Environnement et le De´veloppement, l’Universite ´ de Versailles St-Quentin-en-Yvelines. C3ED/UVSQ, 47 Bld Vauban, 78047, Guyancourt, Cedex, France b l’Institut Se ´ne´galais de Recherches Agricoles (ISRA), Centre de Dakar (IRD) BP 1386, Route des Peres Maristes, Dakar, Senegal c Centre for the Economics and Management of Aquatic Resources (CEMARE), University of Portsmouth, St George’s Building, 141 High Street, Portsmouth, PO1 2HY, UK d l’Institut de Recherche pour le De´veloppement (IRD), Institut de Recherche pour le Developpement, 911, avenue Agropolis, 34090 Montpellier Cedex, France article info Article history: Received 14 September 2009 Received in revised form 27 November 2009 Accepted 29 November 2009 Keywords: Senegal European union Fisheries’ policy Sustainable development abstract The article evaluates the impact of EU fishing activities for the sustainable development of Senegal’s maritime fishery. An evaluation of Senegalese fisheries’ policy discourse introduces the idea that Senegalese fisheries’ policies have not been fully compatible with the sustainable development of the country’s fishery sector. A comparative analysis of the sustainable development impacts associated with the activities of different fishery user groups shows that managed activities of heterogeneous user groups can benefit the sustainable development of the sector. Conclusions suggest that the heterogeneity of the user groups frequenting Senegal’s marine fishery system can be capitalised upon through allocating fishery access in accord with each group’s ability to generate sustainable development benefits. On the basis of these findings the article suggests that the presence of an EU fleet in Senegalese waters could play a meaningful role in ensuring the sustainable development of Senegal’s marine fishery. & 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction The most recent protocol of the fisheries’ agreement between Senegal and the EU expired at the end of June 2006, and has not been renewed for the first time since 1979. Fieldwork observa- tions in Dakar suggested strong sentiment among Senegalese fisheries’ stake holders that the non-renewal of the four year agreement was a victory for local fishing groups. Authors such as Oli Brown [1] and Beatrice Gore ´z [2] have supported this view, arguing that EU fishing agreements have a negative impact upon the livelihoods of local fisheries’ groups, and by implication those of the populations affected by fisheries’ activities. The extent to which the non-renewal of the fisheries’ agreement with the EU can be viewed as a victory for local Senegalese fisheries’ groups is however, questionable. This article evaluates the validity of claims that bilateral fisheries’ agreements between Senegal and the EU do more harm than good for the sustainable development of the West African maritime fishery. The evaluation takes a two pronged approach. First a description of Senegalese fisheries’ discourse is provided, which is followed by an examination of Senegalese fisheries’ policy dynamics and their impact on fisheries’ policy outcomes. The evaluation is underpinned by an assumption that fisheries’ stake holders have a common long-term interest in ensuring the sustainable develop- ment of the fishery. This common interest provides a policy community perspective which is juxtaposed with the conflicting private interests motivating stake holders to maximise immediate social and economic returns from their fishing effort. From an institutional perspective, the extent to which the Senegalese fisheries’ administration authorities balance the conflicting micro and macro interests within the policy commu- nity is evaluated. A comparative analysis of the sustainable development implications arising from the activities of Senega- lese fishing groups provides empirical meaning to the evaluation. The three main fishing groups evaluated are the local artisanal sector, the local industrial sector, and the foreign EU industrial sector. 1 A simple methodology is used to describe the impact of each group on the economic capital, natural capital, human ARTICLE IN PRESS Contents lists available at ScienceDirect journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/marpol Marine Policy 0308-597X/$ - see front matter & 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.marpol.2009.11.012 $ This work was carried out with financial support from the Commission of the European Communities, specific RTD Programme ‘International Research in Co- operation’ (INCO-DEV), ‘Ecosystems, Societies, Consilience, Precautionary Princi- ple: Development of an assessment method of the societal cost for best fishing practices and efficient public policies’ (ECOST). Ã Corresponding author. 57 African Street, Orchards, Johannesburg 2000, South Africa. Tel.: + 27 78 683 5610; fax: + 27 11 352 4244. E-mail address: jpstilwell@yahoo.com (J. Stilwell). 1 The evaluation does not deal with the implications of non-EU foreign fishing fleets. This is because the activities of these fleets are not sufficiently transparent to warrant application of the empirical analysis employed in this study. Marine Policy 34 (2010) 616–623