Pier of Dakhla port, Morocco, which boasts a very active fishing activity. (Photo: Stock File)

Fisheries sector regrets lack of consensus to renew small EU-Morocco agreement

SPAIN
Monday, July 16, 2018, 21:10 (GMT + 9)

The Spanish Fisheries Confederation (CEPESCA) regrets that consensus has not been reached to renew the fisheries agreement between the European Union (EU) and Morocco.

In view of this situation, it asks the Administrations for speedy management of the aid provided for in the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) to the fleets that will be affected and that from midnight on Saturday, the day on which the protocol in force expired, they will no longer be able to fish in the Moroccan fishing ground.

Despite the failure of the negotiations, which have lasted for four rounds held in Rabat and Brussels, the fishing sector trusts that the parties will continue working to bring positions closer and that a new phase of negotiations will be opened leading to a new beneficial agreement for both.

Likewise, and given the impossibility of continuing to develop the fishing activity regulated by the previously valid protocol, CEPESCA requests that the Government be agile in processing the aid to the shipowners and the crew affected by the temporary stoppage.

Pelagic purse seiner landing fish with fish pumps and separator.

The protocol (2014-2018) of the EU-Morocco fisheries agreement that has just expired allowed a maximum of 126 EU fishing vessels, including 90 Spanish fishing vessels, to fish in the Atlantic fishing ground in Morocco. Of the 90 possible licenses for Spain contemplated in the protocol, this year 2018 the fishing sector has made use of 49 licenses: 35 Andalusian boats from Barbate, Algeciras and Conil, 10 Canarian and 4 Galician ones. The rest of the licenses are distributed among other EU countries such as the Netherlands, Lithuania, Latvia, Poland and Germany.

CEPESCA highlights the negative socio-labour impact of the non-renewal of the agreement, both in Spain and Morocco. The 49 Spanish fishing boats that during 2018 developed their activity under the agreement employ 534 crew members, of which 107 are Moroccans. In the period 2014-2018 as a whole, the agreement generated 700 crew member jobs -- 200 in Community vessels -- as well as around 3,500 jobs on land.

"We regret that the negotiators have not been able to settle an agreement with ample time to prevent the departure of the fleet from the waters in which their fishing activity is carried out within the framework of the current agreement," said Javier Garat, CEPESCA Secretary General.

"At this moment, and while we trust that negotiations will be resumed in accordance with the strategic nature of this agreement for both Europe and Morocco, it is a priority to start up aid mechanisms that mitigate the negative socio-economic impact of this setback", he added.

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