Area:
Location: Saloum Delta, Senegal (1800 km²)
Number of inhabitants: 8947 (Bassoul) – between 9000 to 10.000 in Sine Saloum
Protected island: yes
Terrestrial protection status:
Maritime protection status:
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
The Sine Saloum is a natural region that lies to the north of the Gambia and to the south of the Petite-Côte in Senegal. Its surface area is 180,000 hectares. It is in this natural region that the Saloum Delta National Park is located.
It is a delta formed by the confluence of two rivers, the Sine and the Saloum. It is also an arm of the sea that allows salt water to enter deeper and deeper into the land because the flow of the two rivers is quite slow.
ENVIRONMENTAL DESCRIPTION
The vegetation is composed of a relatively diversified flora, essentially made up of two types of plant formations (submersible and unsubmersible). Inside the islands, the vegetation is of Sudanian type, mainly made up of oil palms and coconut trees.
SOCIAL & CULTURAL CONTEXT
The population is mainly composed of Niominka Serer, who specialize in fishing and fish processing.
The main economic activity is artisanal fishing and the collection of mollusks. Between 9,000 and 10,000 people are active in this sector, including 7,000 to 7,500 fishermen. The annual catch of fish and shrimp is estimated at 15,000 tons. The production of mollusks amounts to 2,600 tons. It is considered that 5 to 10% of this production is destined for the supply of fishermen’s households, while the rest of the production is dedicated to the sale on local markets or to export to foreign markets. Salt production is also a very important activity.
