Senegal has rejected requests to license dozens of foreign fishing trawlers, officials said on Tuesday, following an uproar from environmentalists and struggling fishermen in the West African state.

Two government officials told AFP that the applications -- which were originally submitted in April -- had been rejected.

The government had said in April that it would consider permits for 54 foreign vessels.

But the move triggered a backlash from environmentalists and local fishermen, who mounted a campaign to stop the move.

This followed years of tension between local fishermen and foreign factory ships, which are often accused of contributing to severe overfishing in the region.

Senegal's 50,000 fishermen -- who mostly take to the Atlantic aboard wooden boats known as "pirogues" -- have struggled to adapt to declining stocks.

Recently, their revenues have also been hit by the closure of markets to curb coronavirus.

Government officials on Tuesday were unable to immediately clarify the number of permit requests for foreign trawlers that had been rejected.

But NGO Greenpeace said in a statement on Monday that the government had rejected permits for 52 foreign vessels.

The process for acquiring fishing permits in Senegal is highly opaque.

Abdou Karim Sall, the president of a Senegalese artisanal fishing association, told AFP that he welcomed the rejection of the permits, but added that he wanted more government transparency.

"Nobody knows the number of boats (in Senegalese waters)," he said. "I want to hear the minister speak."

An official at Senegal's fisheries ministry was not immediately available for comment.

Dyhia Belhabib, principal investigator for the charity Ecotrust Canada, said impenetrable bureaucracy has often masked controversial decisions on permits.

"This issue is not new," she said, pointing to earlier uproar over foreign trawlers.

In a move hailed at the time, Senegalese President Macky Sall stripped murkily-obtained permits from 29 foreign vessels in 2012, with many hailing from Eastern Europe.

New tension over foreign trawlers comes at a difficult time for Senegal's fishing sector.

"We're not finding any more fish," said Diaba Diop, the secretary general of a Senegalese women's artisanal fishing association.

According to the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organisation, over a third of fish stocks from Senegal to Nigeria are overfished, and up to half of West Africa's annual catch could be illegal.

Fishing is one of Senegal's top industries, accounting for about 17 percent of export revenues in 2018, according to government figures.

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