In Mauritania the number of people employed in octopus fishing has dropped from 5,000 in 1996 to 1,800 in 2002. The Irish fishing vessel, Atlantic Dawn, processes 7000 tons of fish in a single voyage: this is more than a single fishing community might catch in a year. This boat is too large for European Union regulations.
In Senegal local fish supplies have fallen to dangerously low levels.
