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.
This article examines the contrasting positions of sector stakeholders, who favour targeted reforms of the CFP and the simplification of existing rules, and NGOs, which call for the strict enforcement of the current framework. It further assesses the potential implications of these debates for African waters.
EU fisheries governance should shift from a vessel-based to an enterprise-based model, drawing on the Chinese distant-water fishing model while noting its limits. EU progress in transparency and beneficial ownership control is highlighted, alongside calls for conditional subsidies, expanded compliance, and broader corporate responsibility globally.
Although the EU-Mauritius SFPA generates measurable macroeconomic gains, these benefits remain largely invisible to small-scale fishers. The authors highlight weak transparency, limited coastal development impact, governance issues, and inequitable access to resources, calling for a more inclusive, community-centred fisheries partnership model.
The Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement (SFPA) between the EU and Mauritania is an opportunity to implement the “new generation” of agreements announced by the Commission, which should focus on the equitable sharing of benefits, local development, and the well-being of coastal communities that depend on fishing.
