Bridges Trade BioRes • Volume 5 • Number 15 • 2nd September 2005

EU and Morocco Strike New Fisheries Deal

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On 28 July, the EU and Morocco signed a new fisheries partnership agreement after six years of negotiations. The deal, which is worth 144 million euros, will allow 119 European trawlers, mainly Spanish, to enter one of the world’s richest fishing grounds off Morocco’s Atlantic Coast. The final deal is far less extensive than the 1995-1999 agreement — one of the most important European fishing agreements at the time. Since then, European vessels have been entering Moroccan waters through joint venture programmes, targeting overexploited species such as shrimps. The new agreement excludes the pursuit of fishing for overexploited species and has thus been cautiously welcomed by environmentalists who consider the deal a “major progress in the promotion of sustainable fisheries”. The environmental group WWF also welcomed the provisions against the use of driftnets — a type of net still in use in Morocco that leads to catches of non-targeted species. Opinions within Morocco diverge on whether the deal will benefit the country in the long run. Unions and industry organisations have raised concerns, fearing that European vessels could undermine local employment opportunities in a fisheries sector that is already overcapitalised. The exiled government of Western Sahara considered the deal “illegal and unjust”, stating that the fish resource should not be sold before the dispute between Morocco and Western Sahara is resolved.

The new agreement is scheduled to enter into force in March 2006, pending ratification by the Moroccan parliament, the parliaments of the 25 EU member states and the EU parliament.

ICTSD reporting; “Morocco-EU fisheries deal finally renewed”, AFROL NEWS. 28 July 2005; “WWF applauds EU initiative to end Morocco’s illegal driftnet fleet”, WWF PRESS RELEASE, 29 July 2005; “Fishing industry Reeling them in”, MOROCCO TIMES 17 August 2005; “Polisario says will fight EU-Morocco fishing deal”, NEWKERALA, 3 August 2005.