Brussels, 30/04/2001 (Agence Europe) - At their fourth meeting in Dakar last Monday and Wednesday, the European Commission and Senegal agreed to extend the application of the current fisheries agreement for three months (it was due to run out on 30 April) to allow the time to meet agreement on signing a new fisheries agreement (see EUROPE of 18 April, p. 17). Some Member States have effectively requested further fishing rights, but an expert pointed out that the EU had to deal with a hardening of the Senegalese line (as is becoming typical of fisheries negotiations with third countries, witness Morocco or Angola), particularly concerning changes to the financial compensation, the geographical borders of the fishing zones, the duration of licences and the problem of by-catches.
The negotiations are doubly tricky because Senegal is preparing for elections domestically and the Commission is planning to introduce important new measures to the agreement, such as a clause on suspending the agreement in the event of political problems (to take account of the precedent set with Guinea-Bissau) or a potential mid-term review of the agreement to review the fish that can be caught in line with the extent to which the quotas are actually used (which could result in a diminution of the financial compensation paid by the EU).
Sources suggest that extending the EU's fishing rights for a further three months should be sufficient to allow time for a new fisheries agreement to be signed with Senegal. The Commission points out that the fishing limits set in the new agreement will be determined in terms of protecting fish stocks, the precautionary principle and social and economic aspects of the fishing industry. The Commission says that EU fishing vessels' catches make up 6.5% of all catches by large-scale fishing vessels in Senegalese territory, and adds that the ships fish in "fishing grounds which are not used much by local industry or small-scale fishing vessels".
The current agreement allows for tuna fishing, trawlers and pelagic fishing. The EU fishing vessels concentrate on tuna, deep sea prawns and demersal fish such as hake, and also fish from shallower waters such as cephalopods and grouper. The EU's financial compensation under the current agreement totals EUR 48 million (over four years).