The EU and Gabon have signed a new fisheries agreement that replaces the current one. The new Protocol that became effective last December, 3, provides fishing opportunity for Atlantic tuna to 40 Community vessels from Spain, France, Greece and Portugal in return for an annual financial contribution of €860,000.
Sixty per cent of this money is destined for support to the Gabonese national fishing policy and €140,000 will be used to promote sustainable and responsible fisheries in the country.
The new protocol does not include fishing opportunities for shrimps and cephalopods established in the previous one and the tuna licences have been reduced by 40 per cent but the reference tonnage for tuna has been increased slightly, from 10,5000 tonnes (t) to 11,000t, “to reflect the actual increase in catch figures,” according to a press statement from the EU.
A press officer from the EU told World Fishing that the EC countries benefited by the agreement are the same ones involved in the previous protocol and the licences will be shared in the same proportion as they were.
The contribution from the ship owner per tonne of tuna caught has been increased from €25 to €35 and the EU’s contribution reduced from €75 to €65 per tonne.
The new agreement has a duration of six years and it is earmarked under the Fisheries Partnership Agreement (FPA), agreed under the 2002 reform of the Common Fisheries Policy, which focus support on developing the local fishing sector and the capacity of the partner countries to ensure sustainable fisheries in their waters.
In order to provide a framework for ongoing political dialogue on the Gabonese Fishing Policy, the FPA foresees the establishment of a Joint Committee. The following areas have been provisionally identified as priorities: enhancing scientific cooperation for fish stock assessment; reinforcing regional cooperation within the framework of the COREP (the Gulf of Guinea Regional Fisheries Committee); strengthening control and enforcement of fishing activities in Gabonese waters; and establishing a partnership between the European and Gabonese fishing industries. The Joint Committee will convene in the first half of 2006, when it will define in detail how these actions are to be implemented.
The FPA also rationalises certain obligations applicable to the Union’s fishing vessels in relation to the taking on board of local sailors and observers. The new agreement allows for sailors from the region (that is, from other ACP countries, as well as from Gabon) to be taken on board, and for regional observers to be present on EU vessels as long as they are operating in the region. Moreover, the Parties intend to offer an incentive for the landing of catches in Gabon. Licences may now be issued electronically. The Commission proceeded with these amendments following discussions with the relevant sectors of the EU fishing industry.
