Top: Empty nets and canoes on the banks of the St. Paul River in Caldwell. The DayLight/Carlucci Cooper
By Carlucci Cooper
ST. PAUL BRIDGE – On the banks of the St. Paul River in Montserrado County, the day starts early. Paddles slicing through the water as fishermen set out before sunrise. For generations, the people along this river have survived on fishing.
But their way of life is fading away.
Where once nets came back filled with fish, now they return almost empty. Children wait on the shore for fathers whose catch can no longer feed them. The silence of empty boats has replaced the laughter that once echoed along the riverbanks.
For Roosevelt Kollie, a fisherman from St. Paul Bridge, a suburb outside Monrovia, who has fished here for over 40 years, the change is personal and painful.
“I have been fishing on this river for more than 30 years, but since companies started mining sand on the river, the fish migrated,” says Kollie. “Places where we used to catch huge quantities are now empty. The river is dying, and so is our livelihood.”
In the last decade or so, fishers like Kollie have seen their catches vanish after several companies began mining sands on the St. Paul River. This is not only changing their way of life but also drowning the fishing community in poverty.
Since 2011, the Ministry of Mines has issued 89 sand mining licenses for rivers and beaches across Liberia, including one that was issued on the 30th of October, official records show. Nineteen of those licenses were awarded for the St. Paul River, with seven currently active. Most of the licenses came after the Liberian government banned beach sand mining in 2012. The move was meant to curb coastal erosion. However, experts say it has piled pressure on rivers, hampering fishing.
Inland fishery plays a crucial role in sustaining rural life across Liberia. While ocean fisheries often take center stage, rivers, lakes, and wetlands are essential to thousands of families. A 2017 report estimated that 1,460 people engaged in inland fisheries, and the subsector produced 25 percent of the fish for rural communities.
“Fish depend on the riverbed for food. When sand is mined, it destroys their habitat and forces them to migrate into the sea,” says Dr. Eugene Shannon, former Minister of Mines and Energy. “Sometimes they return, and sometimes they’re killed by strong ocean currents. It’s not just bad for the river, it’s devastating for the people who depend on it.”
“[Sand mining] disrupts spawning and nursery grounds and leads to sedimentation, which reduces water quality and oxygen levels,” adds Ahmed Sherf, Director for Environment and Climate Change with the National Fisheries and Aquaculture Authority (NaFAA). He adds that sand mining damages mangroves, which serve as breeding and feeding grounds for various fish species.
Fishermen know this all too well.
‘’When it rains, my home leaks like outside. My children hold their books so they don’t get wet. Some days they get ready for school, but have to stay home because I can’t afford their remaining school fees,’’ says 42-year-old fisherman, Francis Wreh.
“I go to the river hoping to catch fish to sustain us, but the nets come out nearly empty, only enough to feed us.”
Hopeful, 38-year-old Archie Benson rests on a pile of sand, watching trucks pull away from the riverbank. Not long ago, he would have been pushing a canoe at this hour, nets twisted at his feet. Today, those nets sit dry behind his house. Construction works have replaced fishing, and each load of sand he helps remove feels like another piece of the river slipping away.
“I grew up on this river. Fishing was all I knew. But now I dig sand for construction from the same water that fed us. I feel like I’m undermining my own history, but my family has to survive,” explains Archie Benson, a fisherman-turned-construction-worker.
Fishmongers, too, are bearing the brunt of sand mining. For 36-year-old Tete Wilson, the market no longer echoes with fishermen calling her name. All that is left are empty tubs and tables.
“We used to sit here, and fishermen would bring fish every day, but nowadays we go chasing after them and usually come back with nothing. The fishermen themselves are crying that the water is mean,” says Wilson.
Some fishmongers travel far from St. Paul Bridge just to keep their stalls stocked. Cynthia Nagbe, 29, wakes up before sunrise, boards a taxi to reach beaches in Marshall, Margibi and sometimes Robertsport, Cape Mount, in search of fish. The journey cost her more, but she has little choice if she wants to keep her customers.
‘Stop river sand mining’
Sand mining in the St. Paul River might have intensified 13 years ago. However, the river’s profile suggests it would remain a goldmine for the construction industry. One of Liberia’s six largest rivers, the St. Paul flows from Guinea through Liberia into the Atlantic Ocean, spanning 301 miles. A 1963 report found that the mineral is in “unlimited quantities” in the St. Paul Bridge region.
Now, mining sand from the river best explains why fish die or migrate from the area. It works by pumping a mixture of sand and water through long pipelines, using high pressure to extract sediments from the riverbed. The dredged sand is piled in a location where it is separated from the water. The water is then allowed to flow back into the river, degrading that entire ecosystem.
It gets even worse if you add rising temperatures, changing rainfall patterns, according to a 2017 climate risk profile of Liberia, and overfishing, a lack of canoe-landing sites and storage facilities, according to Sherf.
Sherf says NaFAA is partnering with the Ministry of Mines and Energy and other institutions to meet these challenges and improve fisheries. He recommends the setting up of no-mining zones near critical habitats, enforcing regulations, and promoting alternative construction materials.
Fisherfolk demand these actions now.
“We need the government to either stop river sand mining or enact laws that will protect our river. If we don’t take action, we’ll lose everything: our river, our fish, and our hustle,” says Pious Johnson, a fishmonger in St. Paul Bridge.
“We want the government to act. We survive by this river, so we’re appealing for help,” says Thomas Kollie, a fishmonger.
The Ministry of Mines insists that companies mining sand on the St. Paul are legal and have the right to be there.
“River sand mining is legal once you have documents that qualify you to operate with a… license, and you pay your taxes,” says Agatius Coker, Mining Inspector. “That’s why we conduct periodic compliance and enforcement with these companies to ensure environmental safety.”
Coker’s comments are largely unfounded. A 2022 General Auditing Commission report revealed that Liberia’s sand mining industry is largely unregulated, with weak oversight and illegal operations.
The report calls for “comprehensive policies, rules, or regulations that are specific to the governance of river sand mining. It found one company operated in Montserrado and Bong Counties without a license, while another abused its prospecting license. It also found that field inspectors did not regularly monitor and report on companies’ operations.
It says, “[The Ministry of Mines] should review the licenses and operations of all companies mining in the St. Paul River and assess the impact of their activities, cancelling and relocating mines that are causing greater environmental degradation.”
Integrity Watch Liberia provided funding for this story. The DayLight maintained complete editorial independence over the story’s content.
