The issues at stake in the EU-Mauritania Fisheries Partnership Agreement were raised in a joint paper by Pêchecops and CFFA, at the occasion of the visit of a delegation of the European Parliament’s Fisheries Committee in Mauritania. The paper will be distributed this week in Mauritania.
"In 2006, Mauritania and the European Union have signed a Fisheries Partnership Agreement (FPA) for the period 2006-2012. The current protocol of this agreement, covering the period 2008-2012, provides a 4-year financial support of 305 million euros to the fishing sector, as a counterpart of the acces to Mauritanian fishing grounds. This FPA is the most important agreement between the EU and an ACP state, authorizing EU vessels from 12 member states to fish in the Mauritanian waters.
(...) Today, the CAF (Coastal Artisanal Fisheries) is the only national fishing fleet to remain viable."