CFFA supports CAOPA and APRAPAM's request for a concerted approach on the management of shared stocks such as small pelagics and hake

As the EU and Senegal have initiated a new protocol for the SFPA, the African Confederation of Artisanal Fisheries Organisations (CAOPA) and the Association pour la promotion et la responsabilisation des acteurs de la pêche artisanale maritime (APRAPAM) have highlighted their priorities, calling for a regional management of small pelagic and hake stocks, which are shared with other countries in the region, especially Mauritania. In this regard, the negotiations of the EU with Mauritania are an opportunity to bring forward a concerted approach, starting with a joint research on small pelagics, that should be supported by the EU.

Even though the protocol between EU and Senegal does not include access to small pelagics, CAOPA and APRAPAM are worried that the access to these stocks might be allocated to foreign fleets in neighbouring countries on an unsustainable basis. In addition, the coastal communities, especially women fish processors, struggle to access the fish, due to the increased competition by fishmeal factories.

Hake is also considered by FAO as a shared resource between Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal and The Gambia, which is according to FAO also overexploited. CAOPA and APRAPAM suggest the EU and coastal partner countries should establish a strategy for the sustainable management of hake, and question whether the current access of EU fleets to hake is in line with sustainability concerns that are at the heart of SFPA.

CAOPA and APRAPAM complain about the lack of consultation with coastal communities with regards to the use of sectoral funds and requested more transparency. They further underscored that research centre CRODT has not received its budget since 2015 and asked for a serious evaluation of the situation involving all the concerned stakeholders.

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