Off the coast of Mauritania lies one of the richest fishing grounds in the world. Fish is the country’s staple food, its main export, and the largest source of employment. But the booming fishmeal industry is pushing the ocean to the brink of irreversible collapse.

Not only are large commercial species being harvested, but also bycatch and small pelagic fish—once crucial to local diets—are now being ground into fishmeal to feed livestock in Europe and Asia. Traditional fishermen in Nouadhibou and Nouakchott are witnessing the disappearance of their livelihoods. What once sustained families now barely brings survival. Corruption, exploitation, and increasingly dangerous working conditions define their everyday struggle.

Chinese factory trawlers, operating with little oversight, supply the growing number of fishmeal plants along the coast, many of them flouting regulations and depleting stocks at alarming rates. The consequences are devastating: rising hunger, collapsing communities, and mass migration from a country with few economic alternatives.

Environmental damage is equally alarming. Fishmeal plants discharge untreated waste directly into the sea. The water turns grey, the sky dark with diesel fumes. Even on low-production days, the stench near the factories is overwhelming. When operating at full capacity—processing hundreds of tons of fish per day—residents in some neighborhoods can’t open their windows or leave their homes. Respiratory illnesses are on the rise.

The human cost goes further. The Chinese workforce lives largely isolated, confined to dormitories, emerging only to shop in Chinese supermarkets or eat at restaurants that often double as brothels. Their presence adds another layer to a growing socio-economic divide.

This reportage reveals the hidden price of fishmeal: oceans emptied, livelihoods erased, and a fragile coastal society under siege by a global demand that leaves destruction in its wake.