This article illustrates the experience launched by the Afrique-Atlantique Association in Kafountine, the biggest fishing peninsula of Casamance, a natural region located in the south of Senegal. The coast of Kafountine has an abundance of fish but also faces serious health and pollution issues due to the daily discharge of fishery waste on a beach that has no system for clean-up operations. Fish waste poses a problem of chronic pollution, foul odour, hygiene, public health and discourages new tourists from coming to the once very popular island. In fact, together with fishing, tourism was the economic activity that generated most revenues and created most jobs.

Within this context, the association Afrique-Atlantique, which was already active in cereal processing, decided to invest in the transformation of fishery waste into fishmeal, used as organic fertilizer, much sought-after by breeders and farmers from Casamance and other regions, but also from the countries of the sub-region. At the moment, the association manages to produce up to 50 tons of fishmeal per month.

Beyond the environmental aspect and the clean beach thanks to the fishery waste collection, this practice also contributes to generating revenue for the young people and the women recruited for the collection and cleaning operations, fish drying,pressing and bagging. The activity provides self-employment for the Association’s members (30 permanent jobs), and an opportunity of green economy, transforming fishery waste into job opportunities and income. It also provides opportunities of sustainable development for the city, offering a solution for coastal territories suffering from the poor health of their beaches. The association succeeded where many local coastal communities failed to solve the issue of sustainable management of beaches and shores.

With the creation of a new ecological product for agriculture and breeding that was previously unknown on that territory, as well as a fishery marketplace, new job opportunities have been created and income has been redistributed. The promotion of healthy beaches and their impact on the living conditions and the tourism destination,the linking of different actors in order to enhance fishery waste recycling, the consolidation of the territory’s position in the production and sale of fishmeal constitute significant aspects of this social innovation.

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