Brussels, 08/09/2014 (Agence Europe) - The joint committee set up within the framework of the new fisheries agreement between the EU and Morocco gave its approval on 5 September for European fishing vessels to resume fishing in Moroccan waters.
The decision was formalised with the issue of fishing licences, as set out in the four-year protocol. 126 European fishing vessels are concerned, 99 of which are Spanish. The protocol, which came into effect on 15 July 2014, provides for an annual payment by the EU of €30 million in exchange for access by European fleets to Moroccan fisheries resources. Of this sum, €14 million will go to supporting the development of the Moroccan fishing sector.
In a press release, the European Commission welcomed the return of EU vessels to fishing in the waters of Morocco. The EU submitted to Morocco 63 licence applications from five member states: Spain, Portugal, the Netherlands, Latvia, and Lithuania, it stated.
A communiqué from the Moroccan Fisheries Ministry said that discussions in the joint committee had focused on approval of arrangements relative to the technical and financial aspects of the new protocol, such as the procedure for the employment of Moroccan seamen, monitoring conditions for the compulsory landing of catches for each category of vessel, the monitoring and control of European vessels' catches, operation of the scientific meeting and arrangements for implementing the sectoral support to finance projects to modernise the Moroccan fishing sector.
The Spanish fishing association, CEPESCA, hailed the go-ahead. The Andalusian federation of fishing associations, FAAPE, also expressed its satisfaction and underlined the importance of the agreement, particularly for Andalusia. The European Parliament noted in considering the text in December 2013 that this is an excellent agreement for both parties, which meets the conditions set by the European Parliament in its 2011 resolution, guaranteeing a sustainable agreement and a fair return on the EU budgetary contribution. Morocco, it said, will have to demonstrate that it invests the money in a way that is beneficial to the Sahrawi people. It observed that the financial contribution is lower than in the previous protocol which expired at the end of 2011 (€36.1 million) and fishing possibilities have been increased by a third, thereby addressing the concerns of MEPs over cost effectiveness. (FB)