Bait to PlateA tool from The Outlaw Ocean Project
Plant

Jxyg

Plant

Jxyg

Site

address
Kartong Beach
city
Kartong
region
West Coast Region
country
The Gambia

Crimes & Concerns

  1. Labor & Human Rights
  2. Environment

Jxyg is directly associated with labor & human rights issues such as labor rights violations and environmental issues such as air pollution and water pollution.

View notes
Environment
In November 2018, dead turtles, whales, and dolphins began to wash up on the shores of Kartong. Residents said they had been poisoned by the nearby JXYG fishmeal plant, which periodically dumped its wastewater into the ocean. “Scientifically we cannot link the deaths of marine life to the factory but these are unusual phenomenon and we think the pollution is to blame,” said Ahmed Manjang, a microbiologist from Gambia.
In addition to the sudden appearance of dead animals on the beach, the odors emitted from the factory itself drove down the quality of life in Kartong. “We cannot breathe,” said Musa, an environmentalist filming at the plant site in an August 2020 documentary by Kevin de Zwart. In September 2024, businesses told The Republic that the odor from the factory chased away their customers. Lamin Camara, manager of Kartong’s Stala Adventure Lodge, told Dialogue Earth he had to lay off workers due to “the stench when the JXYG factory is processing” because the smell prevented lodge guests from sleeping.
Labor & Human Rights
In November 2022, the National Assembly Committee on Environment discovered JXYG employees working in dangerous and unequal conditions. “It was observed that employees are not presented with safety gear, risking their lives,” said the lawmakers after visiting the three factories along the coastline in The Gambia, including JXYG’s plant in Kartong. One JXYG employee who has worked at the factory since its opening in 2017 told The Guardian in 2019 that he has never been provided with an official contract, and that while seven Chinese workers hold the “skilled” jobs at the factory, local workers are “employed as security guards and fish transporters.”.

Reporting

In November 2018, dead turtles, whales, and dolphins began to wash up on the shores of Kartong. Residents said they had been poisoned by the nearby JXYG fishmeal plant, which periodically dumped its wastewater into the ocean.1 “Scientifically we cannot link the deaths of marine life to the factory but these are unusual phenomenon and we think the pollution is to blame,” said Ahmed Manjang, a microbiologist from Gambia.2

In addition to the sudden appearance of dead animals on the beach, the odors emitted from the factory itself drove down the quality of life in Kartong. “We cannot breathe,” said Musa, an environmentalist filming at the plant site in an August 2020 documentary by Kevin de Zwart.3 In September 2024, businesses told The Republic that the odor from the factory chased away their customers. Lamin Camara, manager of Kartong’s Stala Adventure Lodge, told Dialogue Earth he had to lay off workers due to “the stench when the JXYG factory is processing” because the smell prevented lodge guests from being able to sleep.4

In November 2022, the National Assembly Committee on Environment discovered JXYG employees working in dangerous and unequal conditions. “It was observed that employees are not presented with safety gear, risking their lives,” said the lawmakers after visiting the three factories along the coastline in Gambia, including JXYG’s plant in Kartong.5 One JXYG employee who has worked at the factory since its opening in 2017 told The Guardian in 2019 that he has never been provided with an official contract, and that while seven Chinese workers hold the “skilled” jobs at the factory, local workers are “employed as security guards and fish transporters.”6

JXYG did not respond to a request for comment.7

Stink Radius

Jxyg
DistancePeopleChildren*
5 miles: 13,1334,916
3 miles: 7,7402,897
1 mile: 1,437538
0.5 miles: 596223
* individuals under the age of 15

At least 500 people lived within a half mile of this plant, over 200 of them under the age of 15, while more than 13,100 lived within a five-mile radius, of which over 4,900 were under the age of 15, according to 2025 data from World Pop, a research institute based at the University of Southampton. This matters because it gives a sense of how many neighbors experience the quality of life concerns and health impacts of the foul stench of rotting fish and other toxic chemicals released into the air.