Brussels, 14/04/2016 (Agence Europe) - On Tuesday 19 April, the European Parliament's fisheries committee is expected to recommend approving the new fisheries agreement between the European Union and Mauritania (see EUROPE 11402).
The EP is expected to vote during the May plenary session on the report by Gabriel Mato (EPP, Spain,), which claims that the new protocol, "represents a major step forward by comparison with the previous one". MEPs particularly appreciate the new commitments made by Mauritania on transparency and preferential access for the European fleet.
After lengthy negotiations, the European Union and Mauritania initialled a new protocol on 10 July 2015 that will enable EU vessels to fish in Mauritanian waters for a period of four years. The protocol, which has been provisionally applied since 16 November 2015, provides fishing opportunities for vessels fishing for crustaceans other than spiny lobster and crab; black hake non-freezer trawlers and bottom longliners; vessels fishing for demersal species; tuna seiners; pole-and-line tuna vessels and longliners; pelagic freezer trawlers and nonfreezer pelagic vessels. The main category is pelagic freezer trawlers, which is to be allocated a quota of 247,000 tonnes of a total of 281,500 tonnes set for the fleet as a whole.
The rapporteur considers that the agreement with Mauritania should serve as an example for future agreements signed by the European Union with other third countries. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)