Troubled Waters: Dredging Begins at Gunjur Sambuyang Beach Amid Local Outcry

Gunjur, The Gambia - April 22, 2025 | Gunjuronline.com

Gunjur’s pristine Sambuyang Beach - known for its golden sands, rich biodiversity, and vital role in local livelihoods has just been disrupted. Dredging operations have officially begun, and with them, waves of concern are rising just as fast as the tides.

Last week, heavy-duty machinery rolled onto the shoreline, and long floating pipelines can be seen installed to funnel dredged material from the ocean floor to land and on to vessels.

Authorities say this dredging project is part of a broader coastal land reclaiming due to sand mining that left dangerous trenches. But many in Gunjur aren’t buying it. Fishermen, residents, and environmental groups are raising the alarm about the potential damage to the marine environment and the community’s way of life.

“This isn’t just any beach. This is where we fish, where we gather, where our children play,” said a local resident who spoke to Gunjuronline, standing near the water’s edge. “Now we’re watching it being taken away.”

In 2023, Sino Majilac Jalbak Investment Company, a sand dredging company located at Denton Bridge, announced plans to “restore land destroyed by sand mining in the coastal areas including five abandoned quarries in Batokunku, Tujereng, Sanyang, Sambuya, Gunjur and Kartong”, to end what they called “neglect of environmental restoration”.

Gunjur is home to a delicate coastal ecosystem. It supports turtle nesting grounds, and a rich variety of marine species that depend on clean, undisturbed waters. Dredging at Sambuyang beach is certainly going to led to shoreline erosion, declining fish populations, and murky waters unfit for marine life - or for humans.

The sight of sand-streaked tire tracks, rusting equipment, and heavy pipes stretching into the ocean paints a worrying picture of what’s to come.

If you care about environmental justice, sustainable development, and protecting our coasts, now is the time to raise your voice. Share this story. Ask questions. Demand accountability.

Because when the tide turns, it shouldn’t wash away a community’s future.