Senegal's Fishers Feel the Squeeze as BP-Backed Gas Field Takes Over Traditional Fishing Grounds

A massive gas field in Senegal is forcing out local fishers and threatening their livelihoods. The Grand Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) gas field, operated by BP with a 56% stake, started producing liquefied natural gas in April 2025. But the field's location in the middle of traditional fishing grounds has made it difficult for Senegalese fishermen to access their usual areas.

Amadou Diague, an elderly fisherman from Saint Louis, says that the government and BP want them gone so they can have the whole sea for themselves. 'They are taking away our livelihoods,' he claims. The GTA project is a major investment in Senegal's economy, with the government hoping to use gas revenue to transform the country into a middle-income nation.

But local fishers like Diague and Boun Daouda Soumaré, director general at the municipal development agency of Saint Louis, are skeptical about the benefits. 'This gas project was initiated by outsiders, as locals we are not involved,' says Soumaré. 'We don't even know how many jobs will be created for the local population.'