Vincent Fertey, PlanetArk 6 Nov 08;
NOUAKCHOTT - Mauritania banned most fish exports this week to try to meet domestic needs, angering local fisherman and those workers laid off by fish factories.
Mauritania, an arid country at the western end of the Sahara which boasts rich fisheries off its Atlantic coast, was among the countries worst hit by a surge in food prices earlier this year as it depends heavily on imports of staple foods like rice.
"This ban is intended to redirect output to prioritise the needs of Mauritanians, who have a right to eat their own fish," Fisheries Minister Hassena Ould Ely told Reuters after the ban took effect.
But the export ban on three popular fish, imposed from Monday by the fisheries minister installed after an August military coup, flies in the face of advice from some economists that curbs on exports risk disrupting vital food industries.
The ban covers sea bream and two species of grouper known locally as thiof and merou, which together account for around 80 percent of fish exported from Mauritania by local operators.
"I cannot accept that Mauritanian fish is cheaper abroad than in Mauritania. This measure will lower the price of fish on the local market by rebalancing supply and demand," Ely said.
The ban does not affect ships operating offshore under a deal with the European Union which nets the Mauritanian government 86 million euros (US$110 million) a year.
But with the vast majority of fish landed in Mauritania heading for export, fishermen have been reluctant to head out to sea and fish factories in the capital Nouakchott have been forced to shut down this week.
"The minister is naive to think that by stopping the export of certain varieties, all fish will end up on the local market. On the contrary, we think exports support the whole industry," said Lemine Ould Katari, who has had to suspend operations at his fish factory in Nouakchott.
Of 100,000 tonnes of fish a year landed in Mauritania, all but 30,000 tonnes are exported, according to a World Bank study.
The fisheries sector employs around 39,000 people -- or 4 percent of the active workforce in Mauritania -- most of them in land-based jobs such as the fish processing factories.
"At this pace we'll be closed down within a week," said Mohamed Ali, a fish exporter. "I employ 50 people but I've had to let them go. I just can't pay them.
(Writing by Alistair Thomson; editing by Elizabeth Piper)
