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In Senegal, workshops to inform about the mysterious “fishermen’s disease”
It is a disease that has raised serious concerns among the population in Senegal, particularly among fishermen. In 2020 and 2021, hundreds of them saw spots and lesions appear on their bodies after fishing. Since then, the mystery has been solved thanks to science, but it is now necessary to communicate on the subject.
Published on:03/03/2025 - 00:16
Modified on:03/03/2025 - 02:22
By : RFI
With our correspondent in Dakar , Gwendal Lavina
For five years, the mystery of "fishermen's disease" has remained unsolved. But now it has been solved. Scientists have managed to put a name to the culprits: the algae Vulcanodinium rugosum and a toxin it produces, Portimine A.
Popularizing scientific results
The challenge now is to make these lessons known. In the suburbs of Dakar, a restitution workshop has been set up. There are about ten fishermen and representatives of the profession, near the port of Thiaroye, who have traveled to listen to Patrice Brehmer, a researcher at the Institute of Research for Development. He has studied this disease for four years, which has left its mark on them all.
" From all this research, what have you found about this mysterious disease ? " asks a participant, who gets the researcher's response: " It's a toxin that is produced by a microalgae that is invisible to the naked eye because it is so small, but which exists in very large quantities. What we don't know is where this algae comes from ." The questions continue for two hours.
This kind of exchange is very important for Patrice Brehmer: " Sometimes you have to demystify. It will be hard, you will never be able to convince everyone. But you have to know how to explain all these observations that are convincing, these results that are convincing, and try to popularize them as best you can. "
" We will be better prepared "
Aliou, a fisherman from Fasse Boye, 150 kilometers north of Dakar, followed the explanations carefully. In 2020, he was affected by the disease: “ I am really happy with this approach and what I learned. Thanks to this, the next time I am confronted with the disease with colleagues, well, we will be better prepared and it will be less dangerous for us. ”
To raise awareness among as many fishermen as possible along the coast, videos in Wolof should be broadcast soon. Since the same symptoms were also observed among fishermen in Guinea in 2023, it will also be necessary to communicate on the subject in the neighboring country. Originally, chemical pollution had been put forward as an explanation.
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