Source: Europa Press
The European Union Commissioner of Fisheries (EU), Maria Damanaki, admitted that negotiations for a new fisheries agreement with Gabon are being blocked and therefore has requested the Community fleets to withdraw from Gabon waters.
The previous agreement expired on December 2nd last year.
There are differences in two key issues, such as a clause on the respect of Human Rights and the payment of financial compensation for the fish catches. These are the main obstacles impeding a new agreement to replace the previous one which granted 40 fishing licenses to the Community, mostly to the Spanish fleet.
In a written statement, the EU Commissioner of Fisheries admits there has been little progress in the two rounds of negotiations that have taken place since the expiry of the previous agreement.
“Both parties preferred the need to have more reflection timeâ€, Damanaki wrote. She also stated that the Commission had informed all EU state members about this situation so that they could call on their fleet to “leave†the fishing waters of Gabon.
The expired agreement included an “exclusivity clause†which remains in force and which stipulates that “it is impossible to issue fishing permits to European vessels outside the agreement, even without the protocolâ€, according to Damanaki’s written statement.
Bilbao politics from Bilbao have asked the Commissioner to seek quick solutions to renew the bilateral protocol, as this fishing area is “the main fishing ground of the Basque Atlantic Fleet.â€
The previous fisheries agreement offered Gabon a compensation of Euro 860.000 in exchange for licenses for 24 tuna seiners and 16 surface longliners, according to Community sources.
The EU country benefiting most from this agreement is Spain, which received 12 licenses enabling access to their tuna purse seiners and 13 licenses for their longliners; followed by France, with twelve permits for their tuna seiners and Portugal, with three licenses for their longline vessels.