Brussels, 12/12/2012 (Agence Europe) - On 3 December, the Council of Ministers approved, on behalf of the Union, the signature and provisional entry into force of the new fisheries protocol 2012-2014 with Mauritania. This protocol was negotiated in the framework of the fisheries partnership agreement (FPA) signed in 2006 between the EU and the Islamic Republic of Mauritania.
As well as the protocol, which lays down fishing opportunity for vessels flying the flag of the EU operating in Mauritanian waters and the financial compensation to be paid by the EU, the Council also adopted the regulation which divides up the fishing opportunities between member states and types of vessel.
The new protocol was initialled in July 2012. As the previous one expired on 31 July 2012, the Council's decision provides for it to enter into force, provisionally, from the date of its signature and until all the legal procedures have been completed, as the European Parliament must also take position (co-decision). But this could still take some time; on 7 November, the fisheries committee expressed its misgivings on a raft of provisions. The rapporteur, Gabriel Mato Adrover (EPP, Spain), warned that he was “totally opposed” to the agreement.
The protocol lays down annual fishing quotas, based on catches made in the period 2008-2012 for the different species, types of vessel and member states of the EU, as follows:
Category 1: Fifty-six vessels specialised in fishing for crustaceans other than lobster and crab: Spain 4,150 tonnes; Italy 600 tonnes; Portugal 250 tonnes
Category 2: Eleven trawlers (not deep freezer trawlers) and bottom longliners for black hake fishing: Spain 4,000 tonnes
Category 3: Nine vessels specialised in fishing for demersal and black hake with engines other than trawls: Spain 2500 tonnes
Category 4: Crab fishing: Spain 200 tonnes
Category 5: Twenty-two tuna seiners: Spain 17; France 5
Category 6: Twenty-two pole-and-line tuna vessels or longliners: Spain 18; France 4.
Category 7: Nineteen deep freezer trawlers specialised in pelagic fishing: Germany 28,500 tonnes; France 2,850 tonnes; Latvia 68,400 tonnes; Lithuania 71,250 tonnes; the Netherlands 76,950 tonnes; Poland 28,500 tonnes; the United Kingdom 8,550 tonnes
Category 8: Two non-deep freezer vessels for pelagic fishing: Ireland 15,000 tonnes (if the quota is unused, vessels and tonnage can be transferred to category 7).
The total financial contribution to be paid by the EU has been laid down at €70 million a year over the two years for which the protocol will be valid (67 million for rights of access to the fisheries zones and three million for development aid to the fishing sector in Mauritania). (LC/transl.fl)