In view of the global evaluation of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements (SFPAs) that will be carried out by the Commission in 2021, the author highlights the key points which will need to be assessed from the perspective of the impacts on African coastal communities. The author also suggests essential improvements to be made for the future of SFPAs so that they better respond to the needs of these communities.
The European Parliament is set to give its consent at the end of May to the new Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement (SFPA) between the EU and Mauritius. This article outlines the challenges that Mauritian artisanal fisheries face and highlights the priorities for sectoral support in the future SFPA protocol to support this sector.
At the beginning of February, the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) Contracting Parties, meeting in Kenya, adopted Conservation and Management Measures on both anchored and drifting Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs). These measures were welcomed by many Indian Ocean nations that consider FADs one of the main reasons of tuna overfishing in the region. An article by Beatrice Gorez and Hélène Bours.
For several decades, The Seychelles’ access agreements with Taiwanese companies contained articles preventing the publication of content without prior written approval of the other party. In 2021, as part of the Fisheries Transparency Initiative process, The Seychelles Government announced it would endeavour to remove confidentiality clauses from their fishing agreement.
Seychelles is the first country in the world to publish a report that assesses the compliance against the transparency requirements of the FiTI standard. The author comments on the main findings of the Multi Stakeholder Group and highlights the recommendations for foreign fleets and the importance of understanding the value of local fisheries.
CFFA and six other European and African organisations and their networks publish a joint paper with recommendations to improve the sustainability of EU-African fishing arrangements, including transparency, compliance with European obligations, increased scientific knowledge and the rethinking of the financial support objectives.
The Government of Madagascar has made it clear that it expects to derive greater benefits from its tuna resources through higher financial compensation. If this compensation is coupled with well-directed sectoral support for local fisheries, this could help develop Madagascar's small-scale fishing sector, which provides thousands of jobs and is essential for food security.
The conclusions drawn by the Court’s report need to be deepened and broadened, since they are based only on four agreements and mostly reflect the concerns of the EU ship owners. Little consideration is given by the Court to civil society and third countries fishing communities’ interests and needs.
