Reports conclude that the EU’s fisheries agreements with developing countries are socially, environmentally and economically harmful. By Michael Rothenborg, Politiken, 7 December 2010

“The EU gives us development aid with one hand, but takes away at least the same amount of money by over-fishing our oceans with the other “. Professor Ahmed Mahmoud Cherif is a former chief negotiator for Mauritania and has helped to conclude several fisheries agreements with the EU. Today he regrets having done so, and has therefore become president of the Mauritanian NGO, Pechecops.

A suffering population “Mauritania’s government is given millions to let Spanish and other European vessels fish for octopus, squid and other profitable species. But it is a short-sighted strategy and will not benefit the Mauritanian population. The people suffer because the overfishing of the European vessels leaves fewer fish for them to fish, and because the local fishing industry will lose jobs because of this, ” says Ahmed Mahmoud Cherif. He is in Denmark to participate in conference on the issue of overfishing. The conference that is to be held in the Danish parliament today has been organized by the Democracy in Europe (DEO) and the Danish Fishing Network. They point to reports from among others the UN and the World Bank, that indicate that fishing agreements with developing countries do more harm than good.

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