Brussels, 11/05/2006 (Agence Europe) - The final obstacles to the adoption of the regulation on the fisheries agreement between the EU and Morocco were overcome at a meeting of Member States' permanent representatives to the EU on 10 May. The text of this four-year agreement, which comes into force on 1St June, will be adopted without debate on 22 May by European Fisheries Ministers, following the advisory opinion of the European Parliament, expected on 16 May (see EUROPE 9185 on the report adopted in Parliamentary committee). The main changes to the initial proposal are: Spain will get 100 fishing licences (compared with 99 in the original proposal), Italy will get one licence (it had none initially) and France will get 4 licences for tuna fishing (it originally had 10, but could not make use of more than 4). The 60,000 tonne quota granted to trawlers from several EU countries for the industrial fishing of pelagic species (sardine, sardinella, mackerel, horse mackerel, anchovy) has been shared somewhat differently, mainly to compensate France's loss of the 6 tuna fishing licences it could not use. EU compensation rises from 144.4 million euro to 163 million euro for the period 2006-2010, through the granting of 3 million euro to Moroccan fishing enterprises as part of the MEDA programme and 13.6 million euro paid by EU ship owners to obtain the licences.
The fishing possibilities in Moroccan waters granted to EU vessels are: 20 Spanish seiners for small-scale fishing in the north of pelagic species (sardine, anchovy and other small pelagic species); 20 Spanish bottom longliners and 10 Portuguese bottom longliners for small-scale fishing in the south (meagre and sparidae); 17 Spanish, 4 Portuguese and 1 Italian vessels for demersal fishing (black hake, swordfish etc.); 23 Spanish and 4 French pole-and line vessels for tuna fishing. The 60,000 tonnes for industrial fishing for pelagic species will be shared by Germany (4,850 tonnes), Lithuania (15,520 t), Latvia (8,730 t), Netherlands (19,400 t), Ireland (2,500 t), Poland (2,500 t), Spain (400 t), Portugal (1,333 t) and France (2,267 t).