The ratification will allow European vessels to fish for surplus product off Mauritania's coast for 6 years

EU renews its largest fisheries agreement with Mauritania

photo_camera PHOTO/CASA REAL - Queen Letizia visits Nouakchott's fish market

The European Union Parliament has voted in favour of renewing its fisheries and cooperation agreement and protocol with Mauritania. With 557 votes in favour, the proposal by the Fisheries Committee, led by Spain's Izaskun Bilbao (Renew Europe/Basque Nationalist Party), will allow 86 European vessels to fish in Mauritanian waters for up to 290,000 tonnes of fish per year. 

This fishing agreement is the largest that the EU has with a third country in this area. Even before this agreement, from 1987 onwards, the EU started to obtain fishing licences with Mauritania. According to the document adopted by Parliament, the differences between the old agreement and the new one lie in four categories. The EU has already started to obtain fishing licences with Mauritania, but the differences between the old agreement and the new one lie in four categories: an increase in the annual tonnage, the species covered by the fishing licence, the possibility of renegotiating the agreements after the third year of application and certain measures that Mauritania is urged to take regarding the safety and ecology of its coasts. 

In return, the Mauritanian government will receive 57.3 million euros per year, plus a further 3.3 million euros earmarked exclusively for the promotion of local fisheries. Along with livestock and agricultural exploitation, fishing represents the largest contribution to Mauritania's gross domestic product. It also ranks first in exports to Spain. Fish, despite not having a great reputation among the local population for its consumption, has often been at the forefront of bilateral relations with Spain and the European Union, in addition to security and immigration. 

The Technical Office of the Spanish International Cooperation Agency in Nouakchott has encouraged various projects to create muscle in the local industry. During Queen Letizia's visit to Mauritania, some of these projects were presented. 

The EU, for its part, insists that such agreements have a positive impact on Mauritania and are a win-win situation. The rapporteur for this agreement, Izaskun Bilbao from Spain, said in a hearing that "The renewal of the agreement is good news for the sound management of maritime resources and for the fisheries sector. It shows that the European sector is willing to operate worldwide with practices that are environmentally sustainable, fair for the people who make their living from the sea and that help the development of the local economy".

Izaskun Bilbao also dedicated a few words to European efforts to counteract the negative effects of some practices carried out by the Chinese industry, which has also had fishing permits in Mauritania since the 2000s. "The importance of addressing the unsustainable growth of Mauritania's production of fishmeal and fish oil for aquaculture farms in Asia is also emphasised," Izaskun Bilbao added. 

China has a considerable presence in the country. It entered at the beginning of the millennium as part of its strategy of economic expansion on the African continent, through investment and infrastructure financing. The important presence of the Asian economic giant is materialised in the country's capital, Nouakchott, by the colossal building housing the Chinese embassy, which competes head-to-head with the (larger) French foreign mission complex. 

playa mauritania

Several Mauritanian civil associations have opposed the fisheries agreements between the Mauritanian government and China because of their opacity and, as they point out, the negative effects of Chinese companies' practices on fish stocks and the marine ecology of the Mauritanian coast. 

According to a collection of signatures organised by the "Campagne pour sauver les ressources ahlieutiques mauritaniennes", Chinese fishing exploitation is using intensive bottom fishing techniques and has no positive impact on the local population. 

The European agreement includes a recommendation to put an end to the overfishing of small pelagics, the family of which sardines and horse mackerel for example belong to, due to the negative consequences for local food security. According to the European Parliament's press release, these species are processed into fish oil and fishmeal. Mauritania committed in 2017 to put an end to this practice, which has been growing in the country since 2010. 

As part of the social aid programme, the EU has also asked European fishermen to share a percentage of their catches with the local population for distribution to the most deprived sections of Mauritanian society. 

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