Brussels, 18/03/2002 (Agence Europe) - On Thursday in Strasbourg the European Parliament adopted the report by Albert Jan Maat (EPP-ED, the Netherlands) approving with a few amendments the new four-year protocol to the EU-Gabon fisheries agreement (covering 3 December 2001 to 2 December 2005). To avoid damaging local fishing, the EP feels it would have been better for the EU's ships to be allowed to fish only in a zone beyond the 12 mile limit (rather than within the 6 to 12 mile limit). By 228 to 169 with 2 abstentions it walls for the costs of the fisheries agreements (on both the North and the South) to be shared fairly by ship-owners and the Community budget.
The current protocol allows French, Spanish and Portuguese ships to only fish migratory species (mainly tuna). Once implemented, the new protocol will enable mainly Spanish ships to have new prawn and cephalopod fishing opportunities without cutting the authorised catch of tuna; The EU's financial contribution will rise from EUR 675 000 to EUR 1 262 500 a year.