The FAO organised a workshop in Accra (Ghana) from 5 to 7 December on the theme: "Optimising food and nutritional security and the benefits of small pelagic species production in sub-Saharan Africa". In a joint presentation, CAOPA and CFFA warned of the impact of the decline in sardinella in West Africa on fishers, women fish processors and consumers.
The discussion on Olvea’s role in the exploitation of West Africa small pelagics for fishoil comes as the OECD’s Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct have recently been updated and strengthened, to ensure responsible business conduct regarding their impacts across areas such as climate change, biodiversity and supply chain due diligence
From 8 different African countries, representatives of coastal fishing communities participated to a seminar on the external dimension of the CFP hosted by the EU Long Distance Fisheries Advisory Council (LDAC) in Sweden and then travelled to Brussels where they exchanged with decision-makers from the Commission and the European Parliament.
An episode of ARTE's investigative magazine Sources, entitled “Salmon: a story of smoke and mirrors,” traces the journey of fishmeal and fish oil produced in Mauritania coming to Europe.
The European Parliament's Fisheries Committee has highlighted the impact of the fishmeal industry in Mauritania on the food security of West African populations and called on Mauritania, the EU and neighbouring countries to support and "initiate an international dialogue" for the creation of an RFMO for shared stocks.
The report by MEP Clara Aguilera cautions that this extension should not make negotiations for the new protocol drag, and includes key demands from the Mauritanian small-scale fisheries sector, such as progress on transparency and the use of sectoral support for the sustainable development of the local sector.
As the proposal is being presented at the European Parliament PECH committee and to the Senegalese National Assembly, APRAPAM and CAOPA ask the government to publish all access agreements, demand more transparency on the use of sectoral support funds and express concern on the access to some fish stocks.
The European Union is warning eight nations from around the world to improve their fight against illegal fishing or risk sanctions. EU Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki said that naming Belize, Cambodia, Fiji, Guinea, Panama, Sri Lanka, Togo and Vanuatu did not mean they were put on a black list, but rather they were given a warning without measures attached to it at the moment. If the nations concerned do not cooperate they could face trade and other sanctions in the fisheries sector.
Sources:
EU warns 8 nations about illegal fishing, Business week, 15 November 2012
Questions and answers on IUU fishing, European Commission, 15 November 2012
A Mauritanian civil society Round table discussion was held in Nouakchott on October 14-15 2012, organised by Pêchecops and the FNP, on the following topic: “The proposed protocol to the EU-Mauritania fisheries agreement: towards sustainable fisheries?”. The 43 participants agreed on several recommendations.
These recommendations include:
The proposed protocol must be adopted as it is without new negotiations;
The access to octopus should be exclusively reserved for national operators, in particular artisanal;
The local landing of all products resulting from the fishing operations in the Mauritanian EEZ should be mandatory;
The principle of non-discrimination of treatment between all foreign fleets should be applied;
The involvement of all the stakeholders should be guaranteed at all stages of negotiations and implementation of the protocol, in particular through the setting up of an efficient advisory council;
Transparency should be achieved concerning the conditions for access to resources by foreign companies, both in the context of the EU FPA, and in the case of others agreements signed by Mauritania;
Priorities of the partnership should include support for the development of a local purse seiners fleet, fishing sardinellas for local and regional human consumption; support for women in fisheries entrepreneurs; support for basic infrastructure (landing sites, etc)
In a press release, WWF indicates that 13 Chinese vessels, as well as a fleet with unknown flag, were present in the bluefin tuna fishing zone in the Mediterranean - none of these fishing vessels were on the lists of authorised vessels. The Chinese fleet, says WWF, crossed the Mediterranean from Suez to Gibraltar, before leaving the area on 26 May. Answering requests for information on those vessels, the Chinese authorities informed that the fleet was on its way to Mauritania. ’Despite obvious signs of illegal fishing, and numerous alerts sent to the competent authorities (...), as far as we know, no inspection at sea took place’, indicated Sergi Tudela, in charge of the marine programme at WWF Mediterranean.
Source:
REJOPRAO, quoting AFP, 31 May 2012, http://rejoprao.blog4ever.com/blog/...
These last days, Mauritanian civil society and the professionals from the fishing sector took position the on-going negotiations between the European Union and Mauritania concerning the future fisheries partnership, as well as on the convention of investment in the fisheries sector just signed by Mauritania with a Chinese company, Poly-Hondone Pelagic Fishery. About thirty representatives of the civil society and fishing sector professionals met on June 12th in Nouakchott, at the invitation of the Mauritanian NGO Pêchecops, with the support of CFFA, to discuss issues arising from these agreements.
The participants first greeted the resolution taken, in May 2011, by the European Parliament, who, they emphasized, was a positive development for the North-South relations. The recommendations from the meeting echoed this resolution, demanding the reduction of the fishing effort in Mauritanian waters (in particular by limiting the exploitation of certain species like the cephalopods, to the local fleets), the effective implication of the Mauritanian civil society and the fishing sector professionals in the whole negotiation process and in the implementation of these agreements, the reinforcement of the dialogue and the co-operation between the European and Mauritanian stakeholders, etc.
The recent convention of establishment between Mauritania and the Chinese company Poly-Hondone Pelagic Fishery was also discussed, and the participants voiced their opposition to this convention. The representatives of the National Fishing Federation stated that this convention will worsen the already precarious economic situation of the national sector. The allocation, through this convention, of tens of fishing licences (trawlers, potters, longliners, gillnetters and various experimental fisheries - see agreement protocol here after) will dangerously increase the pressure on the fish resources and will put in danger the Mauritanian sector. They stressed that it is for this reason that the European Parliament asked that negotiations for the renewal of the fisheries partnership agreement with the EU relate to only cover surplus stocks which cannot be caught by the local fleets.
Sources
Copy investment Convention Mauritania - Poly-Hondone Pelagic Fishery
Copy protocol fisheries agreement Mauritania-Poly-Hondone Pelagic Fishery
Press release by Pechecops following the workshop
Mauritania professional fishermen, after having acknowledged the establishment contract signed between the Minister of Economic Affairs and Development and the company POLY HONDONE PELAGIC FISHERY CO., would like to call attention to the fact that this Convention is worsening the already precarious economic situation of national operators from the industrial and artisanal fisheries sector.
Read the press release here
