Last week MEPs adopted - with 503 votes in favour, 71 against and 33 abstentions - a report drawn up by Josu ORTUONDO LARREA (ALDE, ES) on the conclusion of a fisheries agreement between the European Community and Seychelles.
Fishing opportunities remain unchanged (40 tuna seiners from France, Spain and Italy and 12 surface longliners from France, Spain and Portugal), the annual financial contribution increases from €4,125,000 to €5,355,000 and the reference tonnage from 55,000t to 63,000t.
In the explanatory statement of the report, Josu ORTUONDO LARREA highlights that this is the Community’s biggest tuna agreement with a third country in terms of both reference tonnage and financial contribution and a key element ensuring the consistency and viability of other tuna agreements between the Community and other countries in the Indian Ocean (Madagascar, Comoros, Mauritius, Mozambique).
In the consultative report adopted in plenary, MEPs emphasise that "if fisheries sectoral policy in Seychelles is to become a reality, account must be taken of the improvement and modernisation of port infrastructure, which is currently highly congested, and of the possibility of abolishing the special landing fee for tuna, which does not exist in any other port in the world".
The purpose of the proposed agreement is to amend the existing Protocol to the Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Community and the Republic of Seychelles, adopted on 23 January 2006, which repealed and replaced the agreement of 1987.
The Protocol, which will apply until 17 January 2011, sets out the following fishing opportunities:
Tuna seiners
Spain: 22 vessels
France: 17 vessels
Italy: 1 vessel
Surface longliners
Spain: 2 vessels
France: 5 vessels
Portugal: 5 vessels
