Boats flying the European flag will stop fishing in Senegalese waters from Sunday November 17. The European Union has decided not to renew the agreement with Senegal for the moment. Reason given by Brussels: failures in the fight against illegal fishing which had been notified to Dakar and which have not been repaired.
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“ European boats will stop fishing in Senegal’s exclusive economic zone from midnight on November 17. These European boats will be able – it will be the choice of the shipowners – to continue to fish elsewhere », announced Tuesday, November 12, EU Ambassador Jean-Marc Pisani, invoking the existence of agreements between the Union and countries neighboring the SenegalGambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania or Cape Verde.
On May 27, Brussels notified the Senegalese authorities that there were shortcomings and progress to be made in the fight against undeclared and unregulated illegal fishing. Failures in the traceability of fish in particular.
10 billion CFA francs paid by the EU since 2019
Notification made, there must be signals that efforts are being made, that improvements are being implemented. But there were no these signals according to Brussels, hence this non-renewal of the agreement. “ It would not be consistent for theEuropean Unionwhich has a zero tolerance policy towards IUU (illegal, unreported and unregulated) fishing, to renew an agreement with countries that have been notified of this type of difficulty », Explains the EU ambassador.
Eighteen Spanish and French boats will therefore no longer fish in Senegalese waters. Via this agreement, they are authorized to fish 10,000 tonnes of fish per year. In return, the European Union has paid 10 billion CFA francs, or 12 million euros since 2019.
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Fishing, a vital sector in Senegal
This blocked situation is not exceptional since already between 2006 and 2014, there was no fishing agreement between Brussels and Dakar.
Fishing is a vital sector in Senegal, economically, but also culturally. It directly or indirectly supports around 600,000 Senegalese for a population of around 18 million inhabitants.
The approximately 50,000 Senegalese fishermen work mainly on traditional canoes. Fishermen constantly denounce competition from factory boats controlled by foreigners, to which they blame the scarcity of fish.
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