Brussels, 30/05/2012 (Agence Europe) - Spain is keen to see the fisheries agreement between the EU and Mauritania renewed, even though the two sides have failed to agree on an extension beyond July, Spanish Agriculture Minister Miguel Aria Cañete said during a short visit to Nouakchott on Tuesday 29 May.
“I told the president that Spain would like to see the protocol renewed, with advantageous technical and financial conditions, so that the Spanish fishing fleet can continue its activities in the Mauritanian economic area”, Cañete told the press. “The protocol, which serves the interests of both parties, makes a positive contribution to the development of the fisheries sector in Mauritania and we want to contribute more in the future”, he said. He hoped that “this dialogue with Mauritanian authorities will have a positive impact on the negotiations on renewing the protocol, leading to a date being set as quickly as possible”.
The current fisheries agreement between Mauritania and the EU expires on 31 July. Negotiations on extension are still being halted by disagreement over the amount of the financial compensation to be paid to the Mauritanian state.
The last memorandum of understanding allowed around 110 European vessels (mainly Spanish) to fish in Mauritanian territorial waters in return for payment by the EU of over €305 million over four years.
For the new fisheries agreement with the EU, Mauritania is demanding that catches be landed in Mauritanian ports, that 2% of pelagic catches be marketed locally and that Mauritanians make up 60% of crews. According to the official statistics available, the fisheries sector provides more than 20% of budget revenue and employs over 36,000 people in Mauritania. (LC/transl.rt)