Following a brief review of the history of marine fisheries in Senegal, this study highlights their development since 1950, emphasizing the operations of distant-water fleets from Western and Eastern Europe, as well as East Asia, which have competed with, and continue to compete with, the huge local artisanal fleet. The combined fishing pressure of these fleets predictably resulted in overfishing and resource depletion, which is documented here in quantitative terms. This overexploitation also contributed to the impoverishment of Senegalese fisher communities, encouraging emigration to the European Union, particularly to Spain, whose fleet has played a major role in the historic overfishing of Senegalese waters. An analysis of 105 articles from European and U.S. newspapers and magazines revealed that, contrary to low expectations, most identified the activities of foreign fishing fleets and the resulting resource scarcity as one driver, or even the main driver, of this out-migration. The connection between this phenomenon and its principal cause is essential to finding a solution, in this case, the rebuilding of fish populations in Senegalese waters. Although unlikely under current circumstances, such rebuilding would allow Senegalese fishers to earn a livelihood and help ensure food security, even in the country's interior regions.