The Gambia, which relies on food aid, has the largest seafood market in Africa

Source / Walking on a strange road

It is said that Africans do not like to eat seafood, although it does not represent all, but there are indeed many Africans who lack interest in seafood, especially the poorer and the less they like. Only in the Gambia, where the per capita GDP is more than $800, seafood consumption is nearly innumerable times higher than that of Africans per capita, reaching a monthly consumption of 25 kilograms.

The Gambia, one of the least developed countries recognized by the United Nations and the target of FAO's key assistance, has been unable to provide food for more than fifty years since independence. In particular, the withdrawal from the Commonwealth in 2013 led to the eu's direct announcement of the termination of economic assistance, and the days are getting more and more difficult.

Interestingly, the Gambia's seafood market is the largest in Africa, giving rise to a small city specializing in seafood and the world's only fish museum. What is even more strange is that the Gambia, which has a total area of only 10,690 square kilometers, has a coastline of only 48 kilometers.

So, the Gambia, which has a small population and a short coastline, rely on to make the seafood market the largest in Africa? Things need to start in 1995, when there was a breeding fever in Europe and Asia, and the amount of feed required (wild trash fish) also doubled year by year, and the Gambia, which was surrounded by Senegal on three sides, immediately increased its fishing volume to seize the market.

In just three years, the number of fishermen in the Gambia has soared nearly a hundredfold, from two fishing ports to an entire coastline full of fishing boats, and more than 2 million people have more than 70,000 fishing boats of various types, with an average of 30 people. Therefore, the Gambia was quickly selected by the largest farmers in Eurasia, and the limelight was unparalleled.

Of course, West African countries have not given up on this market, but they are not competitive with the "fishing for all" Gambia, because the Gambian fishermen are almost in a continuous rotation to go to sea to fish, return to the port to unload, and so on. For aquaculture, which is in dire need of feed (wild fish), having a supply of raw materials at any time is king.

In order to increase the amount of fishing to achieve the purpose of seizing the market, The Gambian fishermen often pay for the boats, and then take turns to fish in the sea in different periods, which can ensure that the buyers have fresh and cheap fish waiting to be bought at any time, until all the buyers in the later period only recognize the Gambian fishermen.

Not only that, but Gambian fishermen also have the ingenuity to say that they can "deliver on the ship", and they send the selected seafood directly to the freighter conveyor belt in a small bucket truck. As people think, the Gambia can stand out from many fishing powers, leading fishermen from neighboring countries to send seafood here to sell.

One of the largest seafood markets is located on the Banja coastline, 120 kilometers from the capital Banjul, from a dozen fishermen to more than 30,000 permanent residents, and at least 100,000 if you count the floating population. Outsiders are mainly fishermen, vendors and porters from neighbouring countries.

Although Banja is only a township-level administrative unit, its status is far beyond that of ordinary cities, and even the Government of The Gambia has said that it will set up the world's only "seafood international trade zone". From a fishing village to an "international metropolis", Banga has only taken a dozen years, and now has customs to facilitate trade between dozens of countries.

With the exception of higher-value fishing stock such as tuna, most fishermen's catches are reduced to feed (fishmeal) for animals or farmed fish, which is the main reason why the per capita seafood consumption power in the Gambia is much higher than the African average. Perhaps the Banga people have eaten too much seafood, and their way of making fish is also very unique, mainly smoked fish, which is favored by European gourmets.

Even if there is more seafood, it is not worried about sales, because in 2015, a feed processing plant that Chinese opened was officially opened, and the annual processing of fishmeal can reach tens of millions of tons, that is, the seafood that cannot be sold out can be handed over to the Chinese. The feed mill with the world's strongest processing capacity also offers great market prospects for the Gambia, and The future of Banga is bright. (<b>This article is transferred from Walking</b> <b>on a Strange Road</b><b>.) If you have copyright questions, please contact</b> [email protected]<b>. </b>）