Brussels, 11/01/2001 (Agence Europe) - The recent statements by the Cap Verdi authorities, which question the EU's desire to reach a new agreement on fishing and their possible moves towards a strengthening of cooperation with Japan in this sector, have raised a certain degree of surprise in Brussels where a spokesperson for the European Commission noted that the negotiation with this country over the renewal of the fishing protocol are still underway. Three meeting took place without managing to reach an agreement due to the insistence of the Cap Verdi authorities for the obligatory unloading of all the catches made by the surface long liners. EUROPE believes that the European negotiators have accepted the principal of obligatory unloading, but hope that it be introduced in a progressive manner. The Commission is awaiting a new offer from Cap Verdi on this matter.
The fishing agreement with the archipelago of Cap Verdi mainly covers Tuna. The last protocol setting the fishing possibilities and the financial compensation expired on 5 September 2000. It includes possibilities for 37 tuna purse seiner (19 French ships and 18 Spanish), 10 pole and line tuna vessels (8 French and 2 Spanish) and 26 surface long liners (18 Spanish and 8 Portuguese) as well as three surface long liners (Portuguese) for the fishing of other species. The financial compensation paid by the EU over three years totals EUR 1,531,740.