Parliament approves new fisheries agreement with Mauritius
- Increase of fishing opportunities in Mauritius and financial contribution from the EU
- Renewal of the agreement provides stable access to an important fishing zone
- Agreement is equally vital for the EU tuna fleet as it is for Mauritian fishing industry
- Supports the development of Mauritius’ sectoral fisheries policy
The Parliament gave its consent to the 2022-2026 deal between the EU and Mauritius, which will increase the amount of fish the EU tuna fleet can catch in the Indian Ocean.
Under the new protocol, the EU fleet will be able to fish up to 5 500 tonnes per year of tuna and tuna-like species, compared to 4 000 tonnes of tuna per year between 2017 and 2021.
The EU will pay more for this increase; over the next four years, total EU payments to Mauritius will amount to €2 900 000. For access to Mauritius waters, the EU will disburse €725 000 per year, which will support the country’s fisheries policy and develop its maritime policy and blue economy. The contribution to Mauritius’ government, with an additional €440 000 from EU ship owners, amounts to a total of EUR 1 165 000 per year on average.
The benefits for the Mauritian economy go beyond the financial contribution: landings of the EU fleet support 4 000 jobs in the cannery industry, processing 50 000 tonnes of tuna caught by EU vessels in the Indian Ocean, and 500 jobs in repair and maintenance services at the Chantier Naval de l’Ocean Indien. In addition, Mauritius is the third largest supplier of tuna cans to the EU market after Ecuador and Philippines.
Moreover, under the current protocol, EU vessels caught 71% of the reference tonnage in Mauritius’ waters, having had an average annual turnover of EUR 5.6 million between 2019 and 2020.
The agreement was approved by 526 votes in favour, 37 against and 52 abstentions.
Quote
The rapporteur François-Xavier Bellamy (EPP, France) said: “It is absolutely essential to introduce, for the next negotiation of this agreement and any similar agreement, a transitionary tonnage threshold below which fishing activities can still be allowed during the negotiation period.
There is a contradiction in the Commission's policy which, on the one hand, supports the renewal of the Mauritian fleet and, on the other hand, prevents any financial support to be attributed to the renewal of the fleet for European fishermen in our outermost regions.”
Next steps
The new deal will be put in place as soon as the European Commission notifies the government of Mauritius.
Background
The EU’s tuna fleet is composed of 40 tuna seiners and 45 surface long liners, mainly Spanish and French and, to a lesser extent, Italian and Portuguese vessels.
According to 2020 statistics, the EU fleet caught 217 000 tonnes of fish in the Western Indian Ocean, which is the main tuna fishing ground for the EU: 69% of the catch was taken by Spain, 28% by France, 2% by Italy and 1% by Portugal.
However, the EU fleet is far from being the biggest in the Indian Ocean. It represents 12.5% of the catches by weight, while Indonesia and Iran are well above, with 19.8% and 13.3% respectively.
Contacts:
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Raquel Ramalho LOPES
Press officer