On Tuesday the fisheries agreement benefitting the Andalusian shellfish sector but harming Galician fishermen engaged in octopus capture that was signed between the European Union (EU) and the Mauritanian government became effective.
On 8 October, the full European Parliament (EP) definitely approved the renewal of the fisheries protocol with Mauritania, despite the efforts made by the Spanish Government to manage to stop its adoption.
The result of the vote of the agreement was 467 votes in favour, 154 against and 28 abstentions despite the opinion against the Fisheries Committee of the European Parliament.
This fishing deal is the most important one as to volume and variety of species of which the EU has negotiated with third countries.
In September 2012, Spain, Portugal, Lithuania, Latvia and Poland sent a letter to the European Commission (EC) in which they expressed their “deep concern” about the deal. For these countries, the fishing opportunities and the agreed technical conditions threatened the financial viability and sustainability of the EU fleet, reported Canal Sur.
According to the EU Fisheries Commissioner Maria Damanaki, the EU fleet will pay a fee of EUR 15 million for fishing in Mauritanian waters in the first eight months of the agreement.
“A large number of European vessels are now beneficiaries of the protocol, especially those who fish for tuna (Spain), small pelagic specimens (Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, the Netherlands and Portugal) and demersal fish (Spain),” Damanaki said in response to a question of the President of the EP Commission on Fisheries, reports La Opinión.
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