Brussels, 01/08/2001 (Agence Europe) - The Commission and Mauritania ratified a new protocol to their five-year fisheries agreement Wednesday morning, following lengthy talks begun on 10 July. The Fisheries Agreement spans 1 August 2001 to 31 July 2006). It enables European vessels (Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Greek, French, Dutch, German and Irish) to increases their fishing efforts, whereas the Mauritanians secure greater financial backing to compensate for this. With a Community contribution that goes from 266.8 million euro to 430 million euro over five years (on average 86 million a year), the fisheries protocol becomes the largest concluded with a third country. Negotiations were all the more difficult in the Spain, which remains the main beneficiary of the agreement, wanted to further increase its fishing rights to enable some of its vessels, which can no longer fish in Moroccan waters (following the breakdown in negotiations on renewing the agreement with Morocco), to redirect their activities. According to a Commission expert, Madrid did not secure as much as it wanted (an extra twenty of so boats at sea), "but it certainly is the country whose share is the greatest" concerning cephalopod vessels.
The new fishing possibilities are as follows: cephalopod vessels: the number of vessels allowed to fish, limited at 42 on average in the previous protocol (1996/2001), goes to 55 (some forty Spanish vessels, then 4 or 5 Italian ones); pelagic freeze-trawlers: the number of vessels has been reduced from 22 to 15, this type of fishing especially concerning the Netherlands; Tuna vessels the number of pole-and-line tuna vessels and surface long-line vessels increases from 57 to 67. The tonnage of vessels fishing for black hake remains set at 8,500 GRT, whereas that for vessels fishing crustaceans other than crawfish (shrimps and crabs) increases from 5,500 GRT to 6,000 GRT.
Part of the EU financial contribution of 430 million euro will serve to finance targeted action at modernising the Mauritanian sector (scientific and technical research on the state of stocks) and aimed at improving the control and monitoring of fishing activities (notably through a system of satellite location). Fees paid by ship owners (40 million euro on average over five years according to the previous protocol) have been reviewed upwards by 25% for pelagic freeze-trawlers and tuna vessels and from 8 to 18% for other vessels. The Commission announced that to "guarantee sustainable fishing" a scientific meeting will be organised each year to assess the state of stocks, especially cephalopods.