Senegalese EEZ - Environment

Off Senegal, surface waters are under the influence of two major ocean currents with very different characteristics. Coming from the north, the cold current of the Canary Islands, with a branch turning west at Cap Blanc to form the north equatorial current, moves south along the coast of Mauritania and Senegal. Coming from the west, the warm equatorial current flows eastward along the coast of Africa where it forms the Guinea Current. In the warm season, this current may move north. The Guinea current is much more variable than the Canary Current. The coast of Senegal is strongly influenced by the seasonal influx of cold water from coastal upwelling.