Brussels, 09/11/2010 (Agence Europe) - MEPs consider that the government of Mauritania must be more transparent in its use of the European funds it benefits from within the context of the fisheries partnership agreement concluded with the EU. MEPs are also concerned by competition from Chinese ships sailing under Mauritanian flags.
For the 2008-2012 period, European Union aid of €305 million was paid to the government in exchange for access to Mauritanian waters, which are very rich in fish stocks. A new agreement is currently being negotiated for post-2012.
On Tuesday 9 November, Alain Cadec (EPP, France), a member of the parliamentary delegation which visited the country last week exclaimed that “this money should be used to ensure sustainable development of the Mauritanian fisheries sector but verifying how these funds are used is very difficult”. Cadec asserted that “European funds should not be used to feed the general budget of the state”. One hundred and ten European vessels benefit from this agreement, including 60 flying the Spanish flag and a number of French tuna fishing boats.
Fishing accounts for 35% of Mauritanian exports and accounts for 36% of all jobs in the country. The quantity of European fishing is regulated. European fishermen have to, however, compete with the Chinese, who, by way of joint ventures, are fishing in these waters under a Mauritanian flag, explains Alain Cadec. By carrying out this fishing, the Chinese are “taking significant advantage of this country's fishing resources, without being subject to strict controls imposed on European ship-owners”. Cadec is also concerned by the significant reductions in fishing opportunities, although payments and fees paid by European ship-owners “are continually increasing”.
The president of the European Parliament fisheries committee, Carmen Fraga, considers that the new agreement being discussed ought to produce improvements to make the current partnership more balanced. During a press briefing in Nouakchott last week, Fraga explained that Mauritania particularly wanted to invest in port infrastructure. Along the whole of the 700 km of Mauritanian coastline, there is no landing stage or port at all, except for those in Nouakchott and Nouadhibou (in the far north west of the country). (L.C./transl.fl)