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
During the COVID-19 epidemic and due to confinement restrictions, the European Parliament Fisheries Committee held an online meeting on Thursday 23 April where it adopted the draft recommendation on the extension of the protocol of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement (SFPA) between the EU and Mauritania, as the negotiations between the two parties have been prolonged beyond the expiry date of the current protocol in November 2019. The rapporteur Clara Aguilera, however, underscored that this delay should not be used as “a wild card to make negotiations drag on longer than necessary.” Her report also included key demands from the Mauritanian small-scale fisheries sector, who have repeatedly asked that some of the acquis from the previous protocol should be maintained.
The demands of the artisanal sector
At an event at the EP in November 2019, Sid’Ahmed Abeid, president of the artisanal fisheries section of Mauritania Fédération Nationale des Pêches, called for three existing measures in the current protocol, namely, the landings of 2% of small pelagics catches for food security, the access to octopus reserved for local fishermen and the current zoning, to be upheld in the future protocol. These changes have indeed allowed the development of the artisanal fishing sector and the compulsory landings of small pelagics had an impact on food security as the local consumption of fish in Mauritania has increased from 4 to 12 kgs per person per year.
Ms. Aguilera also welcomed the inclusion of a detailed transparency clause in the agreement, which obliges Mauritania to disclose any agreement allowing foreign vessels access to its territorial waters, and recommended that this clause should be transposed in all EU-third countries SFPAs. This was also a demand by the Mauritanian artisanal fisheries sector. On this, the rapporteur urges that sectoral support be used to develop sustainably the Mauritanian fisheries sector.
In January 2019,[1] when negotiations for a new protocol were about to start, representatives from the Mauritanian artisanal fishing sector highlighted the priorities for their sector :
Zoning: The greatest acquis of the previous protocol for the artisanal fishing fleet is the modification of the fishing zones aimed mainly at protecting fragile coastal ecosystems from trawling, including by removing fleets from the areas around the Banc d’Arguin and reducing the potential interactions between EU fleets and Mauritanian fishing fleets.
Access to octopus: Artisanal fishers continue asking that octopus should be reserved to the artisanal fisheries, a key resource for the sector, as overexploitation levels continue to be estimated at 17%.
Access to hake: Hake is a shared resource with other countries in the region, especially Senegal, and it is considered overexploited by FAO. While there is reduced access to hake in both SFPAs, Mauritanian artisanal fishermen expressed concern over by-catches of hake by other demersal and pelagic fishing vessels would reach or exceed the target.
Sectoral support: The sector demands more transparency in the allocation of funds and would like coastal communities to be consulted, as artisanal fisheries are listed as beneficiaries of sectoral support.
Training for Mauritanian crew: The boarding of the sailors is positive, but should be coupled with a training obligation of these sailors especially on safety on board, but also on fishing techniques, etc.
Development of small-scale tuna fishery: Recently, artisanal fishermen have caught approximately 1,600 tons of minor tuna per year. The EU should encourage the development of an artisanal tuna fishery, and support Mauritania to submit a sustainable development plan for such a fishery at ICCAT.
The urgency of regional management for small pelagics
MEP Aguilera concluded her report by mentioning a key challenge in West Africa, namely, the overexploitation of small pelagics, a staple food in the region, whose state is under increasing pressure due to the booming of fishmeal factories, especially in Mauritania. For her, these resources should be managed at regional level as the FAO working group CECAF recommends, given that Mauritania shares these stocks with Morocco, Gambia and Senegal. Ms. Aguilera advises that “joint research programmes need to be established and the Commission should ensure that scientific committees all meet at the same time, or within a few days of one another.”
Landing of fish from an artisanal pirogue in Joal, Senegal. Photo: Aliou Diallo/REJOPRA.
There have already been several calls for a regional management of this resource, by the scientific community, by artisanal fisheries and by civil society. In an article CFFA published in February, an expert on small pelagics fisheries in the region, Ad Corten, suggested how the EU-Mauritania SFPA can help improve the management of small pelagics. In the negotiations for a new protocol, the EU should demand that sustainable management is a prime condition for a new protocol.
This would imply that the Mauritanian government should (1) guarantee that the minimum requirements for sampling of catches are met, (2) apply the recommendations of the FAO Working Group, and (3) initiate consultations with neighbouring Senegal on the joint management of small pelagics. Finally, since fisheries management and research are national responsibilities, the EU should be careful not to take over the funding of national sampling programmes. What the EU can do, however, is to (4) fund activities that are beyond the means of national governments, such as the international coordination of research.
Notes:
[1] The paper was drafted jointly with representatives from the Senegalese artisanal fisheries sector. They met in M’bour (Senegal) in January 2019 to agree on a concerted approach to the Senegal-EU and Mauritania-EU SFPAs as both protocols were being re-negociated.
[2] Banner photo: from the archive, Mauritania.
More information:
Download the document drafted by representatives of the Mauritanian artisanal fisheries sector.
Read here the intervention at the EP by the president of the artisanal section of the FNP in November 2019.
Download the policy brief by Ad Corten on Mauritania SFPA and sustainable fisheries management.
Download the report on the extension of the EU-Mauritania SFPA by MEP Clara Aguilera