The EU Council of Ministers adopted without debate, on Thursday 5 March, a decision on the conclusion of the new six-year EU/Gambia Fisheries Agreement (see EUROPE 12394/27, 12282/28).
The fishing opportunities granted to EU vessels concern, on the one hand, highly migratory species (28 tuna seiners and 10 pole-and-line vessels) and, on the other hand, deep-sea demersal species (3 trawlers).
The financial contribution paid by the Union to this country is set at €3.3 million (€550,000 per year). An annual amount of €275,000 will be paid for access to fisheries resources (reference tonnage for highly migratory species of 3,300 tonnes per year), while the other half of the contribution will be used for structural support to strengthen the sustainable management of fisheries resources and the development of the Gambian fisheries sector.
On 25 June 2019, the EU Council had adopted a decision on the provisional application of the partnership agreement with Gambia and a regulation on the allocation of fishing opportunities. The European Parliament gave its consent to the conclusion of this EU/Gambia agreement on 18 December 2019. (Original version in French by Lionel Changeur)