Evri day, Gora Fall, fisherman or Senegal northern city of Saint-Louis, dey go to di sea wit a mix of emotions: hope and frustration.
E dey hope to catch beta fish dan di previous day, yet e dey frustrated say wetin im go find fit no meet im needs.
“Bifor, we work to live, but now we just dey work to survive,” di 25-year-old tok.
Like im, many oda small-scale, traditional fishermen for Saint-Louis – one major fishing hub – dey face hard times.
Di BBC don tok to several fishermen and pipo wey dey linked to di fishing trade – all of dem point to one cause – liquefied natural gas platform wey dey sit on di maritime border between Senegal and Mauritania, off di coast of Saint-Louis.
Na British multinational oil and gas giant BP dey operate Greater Tortue Ahmeyim (GTA) gas project as part of dia joint venture wit Kosmos Energy, as well as Petrosen and SMH, di national oil companies of Senegal and Mauritania respectively.
BP get 56% working interest for di project, wey start im operation for Senegal for 2017 afta di discovery of natural gas two years earlier.
Described as one of di deepest and most complex gas development schemes for Africa, di first phase of di multi-billion dollar offshore project dey expected to produce roughly 2.3 million tonnes of liquefied natural gas per year for ova 20 years.
However, residents of Saint-Louis also tok say e come wit restrictions on dia fishing wey be say na 90% of di city population of ova 250,000 dey rely on am for dia livelihood.
One Tuesday morning, wit calm weather, Mr Fall carry im wooden canoe wit painted patterns of red, blue, yellow and oda colours.
Wit im hook and bait, e set off for di day fishing trip.
Afta motoring 10km (6.2 miles) offshore, di young fisherman approach di giant gas facility. But e tok say e no fit get any closer due to 500m exclusion zone wey dem restrict for fishing.
“Di authorities forbid us to fish for dat area of di platform, under penalty of confiscation or even destruction of our fishing equipment if we access am,” Mr Fall tell di BBC.
Fishermen build di platform around natural reef rich wit fish – di restrictions mean say wetin dem dey catch na small fish and dem no fit earn beta moni to make a living. Dis don add to di difficulties dem don dey face already wit competition for fish from large international trawlers.
“We dey veri frustrated,” Mr Fall tok.
“Now we fit stay until 4:00pm we no go see fish.”
BP tok say concern about Senegalese fishing stocks na before di gas project, e tell BBC inside one statement: “Safety zones around infrastructure na standard practice to protect pipo and assets.”
During di forum wey hold for Saint-Louis for October 2024, Senegal Energy Minister Birame Souleye Diop express im concern for oil and gas exploitation to co-exist wit fishing, e describe am as essential to di local community.
Fishing account for nearly 60,000 direct jobs and more dan half-a-million indirect jobs for Senegal, according to di UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO). E also reportedly employ one in six pipo and represent about 3% of di kontri GDP.
Di majority of pipo wey dey work for di sector na small-scale, traditional, or “artisanal”, fishermen and processors.
Na women dey traditionally process di fish. But wit di reduction in di number of fish for Saint-Louis, many don lose dia jobs.
Diamol Sène, dey dry salted fish in di sun, some of di women don previously work wit her for fish processing site – now dem dey unemployed.
“Fish don become too expensive, transport costs dey veri high. Today, we earn just enough to cover expenses,” di mother of 10 tok.
“If di canoes no fit go out to sea and come back wit [plenti] catch, all di women go return to di site to work,” she tok.
Fishermen tok say dem bin dey make between $445 and $625 (£330 and £465) from one single fishing trip, but nowadays, dem dey struggle to get $90.
Dwindling profits don dey push many fishermen, including Mr Fall, to consider abandoning dia centuries-old practice, wia many see as tradition dan trade.
“Dem don force us to continue our fishing activity, becos we no get oda choice,” e tok.
“But if job opportunity arise, we go seize am witout hesitation.”
Odas don already abandon fishing for alternative opportunities, including migrating to Europe.
One of di pipo wey no dey go catch fish any longer na 38-year-old Saer Diop. Since 2021, di long-time fisherman don start to dey work as carpenter – producing, repairing and painting canoes.
E develop di skill wen e dey young and now see am as lifeline in di face of adversity.
“Currently, I dey earn beta living wit carpentry dan wit fishing,” e tok.
While e admit say di work as carpenter no dey regular, e feel say fishing don become “veri difficult” becos of di gas project.
BP insist say e dey “committed to operate responsibly” alongside dia partners and local communities.
While celebrating di launch of gas exports from di facility for April 2025, di energy minister call for “continuous vigilance to guarantee di efficiency, transparency and sustainability of economic benefits for di population”.
Di govment also praise di gas project as one wey dey strengthen di kontri position am on di global energy scene, to earn key foreign exchange.
Members of di local association representing artisanal fishermen for Saint-Louis say BP neva fulfil dia promise to create artificial reefs wia dem fit catch more fish.
Dis reefs suppose serve as alternative, e dey give access to di natural reef – wey pipo locally sabi as Diattara – e dey restricted.
“Wen dem come for 2019, dem tell pipo: ‘We dey go build eight artificial reefs to at least replace our Diattara,” di tok-tok pesin of di fishermen association Nalla Diop tok.
However, e tok say six years on “dem neva do anytin”.
Di BBC obtain documents from one study wey Senegal Oceanographic Research Centre of Dakar-Thiaroye (CRODT) conduct, show 12 potential sites bin dey initially explored to host di artificial reefs. Out of dis, six bin dey identified as viable.
Dr Modou Thiaw, one senior researcher for CRODT, dey among pipo wey lead di study. E tok say only two of di sites dey later identified and proposed to BP.
E describe di process of delivering artificial reef as “super slow”.
Inside one statement, BP tok say between 2021 and 2023, feasibility study and further evaluation reveal say only two of di 12 reef sites dey “assessed say dem dey feasible for reef of ogbonge size, wey dem fit deploy witout risk of submergence or scouring”.
“One of di sites dey within di Marine Protected Area (MPA) of Saint-Louis and therefore dem no put am forward, e no go provide immediate benefits to Saint-Louis fisherfolk,” di statement tok.
BP tok say di site na host to substantial reef complex wey include 10 reef clusters within am.
“Work dey already under way, and dem go complete di reef by di end of 2025,” BP tok.
Di company tok say environmental and social impact assessment wey dem approve for 2018 conclude say di loss of potential fishing grounds for Mauritania and Senegal na as result of di gas project.
Fishermen say BP plan to build di artificial reef just 4km from di coastline, and describe di position as unfavourable to attract fish.
However, BP tok say technical evaluation conclude say “cluster” of “reef pyramids” for dat location allow more effective management and protection of dat reef.
Di Senegalese govment say one gas leak bin hapun for February 2025 – wey BP describe as “gas bubbles” – for one of di wells wey di oil and gas giant dey run.
Di incident raise concerns about di safety of marine life around di facility.
Mamadou Ba, Dakar-based ocean campaigner wit Greenpeace Africa, tok say gas leaks fit get “immeasurable effects” on di environment.
“BP refuse to disclose di actual amount of di gas leak,” Mr Ba tok.
E tok say experts don find say such gas leak get di potential to destroy marine fauna and flora, reefs, algae and resources wey dey allow fish to feed.
However, repeating di word wey dem dey use in di assessment of di loss of fishing ground, BP tell di BBC say, di environmental impact bin dey assessed as “negligible”.
“We act swiftly, cap di well, and engage transparently wit regulators,” di multinational tok.
Inside one joint statement on 14 March, Senegal environment and energy ministries tok say tests and observations wey dey carried out reveal no further leak afta BP repair di well.
“Satellite images, wey dem take afta di intervention, no reveal di presence of bubbles or condensate on di surface of di water,” di statement tok, while expressing di commitment of both Senegalese and Mauritanian authorities to ensure continuous improvement for di management of di gas project activities “in order to minimise di occurrence of dis incidents for future”.
But di leak don add to local concerns about di impact of di gas site.
Representatives of di artisanal fishermen for Saint-Louis tok say di promise of economic prosperity through di project come at great cost.
Dem tok say e deprive dem of free access to dia much-cherished sea, and add say e don leave dem wit uncertain future.
Dem also accuse di govment of siding wit BP to dia detriment.
“We only get di sea to live on,” Mr Fall tok.
Di Senegalese govment no respond to di BBC request for comment.
Di fishermen tok say dia catch don go down since di gas project start
Di gas platform dey sit about 10km from St-Louis coast