Fishing for pet food 'deprives millions of West Africans'

Environmental campaigners have warned that exports of fish meal and fish oil from West Africa are depriving more than 30 million people a year of food. 

A report by Greenpeace Africa and the Netherlands-based organisation Changing Markets urges governments to phase out processing of fish which is fit for human consumption being used for fishmeal and oil.

It says the fish extracted by industrial vessels off West Africa are processed and exported, mainly to Europe and Asia, as feed for fish farms, pet food or use in cosmetics. 

The report says the industry is devastating coastal communities and undermining food security in Mauritania, Senegal, the Gambia, Mali and Burkina Faso.

This article originally appeared on BBC News

Photo: AFP