Dredging and pollution threaten fishing in the Niger River

BAMAKO — Bourama Traoré and his brother, now aged 20 and 29, grew up along the banks of the Niger River. Their daily routine has always been simple: cast their nets and provide for their family. But now, the wait has grown long and the catch scarce. Six casts yields almost nothing; at best, a handful of small fish. Sometimes the nets come up empty — or filled with plastic waste.

According to fishers in Bamako, the Malian capital, this situation is the direct result of human activities — in particular, gold panning by dredging, and plastic pollution — which are degrading the Niger River ecosystem and leading to lower yields for fishers.

According to the Ministry of Fisheries, “Mali needs 300,000 metric tons of fish every year, whereas the country’s annual production is 130,000 metric tons.”

The Niger River, which runs 4,200 kilometers (2,600 miles), including more than 1,600 km (1,000 mi) in Mali, is becoming increasingly polluted, especially in Bamako. The water is now muddy and littered with plastic bags. A report by Greenpeace estimates that each year, the Niger River carries 35,000 metric tons of plastic waste to the sea.

“Every night, local residents take advantage of the darkness to dump their garbage in the river,” says Traoré, the young fisherman. “This irresponsible behavior is a serious problem, not only for us fishers but for the entire fishing industry.”

Traoré highlights the toll that plastic waste is taking on his livelihood: “This situation threatens our only source of income,” he says. He says the proliferation of nonbiodegradable bags in the river is disrupting the aquatic ecosystem and making life even harder for fishers.

‘We used to be able to fill a pirogue several times over’

A 2017 study published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology lists the Niger River among the top 10 most polluted rivers in the world for the amount of plastic that it channels out to sea. And plastic pollution isn’t the only concern.

In Mali, a report on the state of the Niger River, published in December 2018 by the ABFN, the government agency responsible for managing the river, points to pollution sources along the length of the waterway. Among these is dredging for gold. The report highlights that the use of chemicals such as mercury and cyanide during these operations contaminates the water and slowly poisons what remains of the river’s aquatic life.

Dredging for gold is now taking place right in the heart of Bamako. Local companies and private individuals stir up the riverbed in search of gold — an activity that destroys natural fish habitats.

“I’ve been fishing for about 40 years,” says Traoré’s father, Yamoussa Traoré. “Before, we could fill a pirogue several times over. Nowadays, filling even half a pirogue is a struggle. Gold dredging is one of the main reasons. It pollutes and contaminates the water. As a result, there are fewer and fewer fish.”

In the face of these challenges, many fishers have been forced to seek other livelihoods. Among them is Mama Farota, a former fisherman from Mopti, located about 640 kilometers (400 miles) from Bamako. Fishing ran in his family, passed down from his father and grandfather, but in recent years it hasn’t been enough to make a living. As fish became scarcer in Mopti, Farota left his hometown for Bamako.

Instead of fishing, Farota began diving to the riverbed to extract sand, becoming a sand miner. However, this activity also disrupts the river bottom, destroying fish habitats and degrading water quality, and further compounding the struggles faced by fishers.

“There just weren’t enough fish left because of human activities,” Farota says. “So I left my parents behind to mine sand from the river here in Bamako. That work has allowed me to build my house.”

Laws exist, but are not enforced

Article 62 of Mali’s 2023 mining code clearly states that “the exploitation of mineral substances in riverbeds by dredging or any other method is prohibited”. Despite this, enforcement on the ground remains weak. Dredging for gold continues upstream of Bamako, posing a serious threat to the aquatic environment.

Seydou Kanté, an independent fisheries and aquaculture specialist, says that “dredges threaten the aquatic environment if there are too many of them, as they stir up mud that degrades water quality. Some byproducts, such as waste oil, can also kill fish.”

Yamoussa Traoré, the elder fisherman, is also president of the Bozo Ko association, founded in 2016 to unite the Bozo ethnic group to which he and his sons belong, and to protect their shared heritage: the Niger River. He expresses frustration over the current situation. “We have reported this deplorable state of affairs to the town hall and the water and forestry department, but nothing has changed. We are in total despair,” he says.

Yamoussa Traoré says some people have found a partial solution for the decline in fish stocks. “Fish farming could help make up for the shortage in the river,” he says. “Unfortunately, not everyone has the means to pursue this alternative.”

This story was first published here in French on April 18, 2025 as part of Mongabay Africa’s fellowship program for environmental journalism.

Banner image: The Niger River at Bamako, Mali. Image by Mariam Sanogo for Mongabay.

Citation:

Schmidt, C., Krauth, T., & Wagner, S. (2017). Export of plastic debris by rivers into the sea. Environmental Science & Technology, 51(21), 12246-12253. doi:10.1021/acs.est.7b02368

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