The EU-Morocco fisheries agreement ceased after midnight on Monday 17 July 2023, with Spanish fishing fearing it it will not be renewed
The fisheries agreement between the EU and Morocco ended after midnight this morning, Monday 17 July 2023, with many doubting that it will be renewed, which will be a major blow for Spanish fishing vessels from Andalusia, the Canary Islands and Galicia who rely on Moroccan waters.
The termination of the agreement will mainly affect Spain, which holds 92 of the 138 licenses granted by Morocco to European fishing vessels.
The fisheries agreement entered into force on 18 July 2019 and was cancelled by the European Court in November 2021 following a complaint by the Polisario, the independence movement demanding to be part of this agreement because most of the fishing activities take place off the coast of Western Sahara.
Last week, the EU and Morocco have held contacts, in a joint committee held in Brussels.
News from Rabat is that Morocco wants a new vision of the protocol with more added value.
Under the now expired agreement, in exchange for the access of the fleet, Morocco has received an economic contribution of €50 million per year, including sectoral support and the fee paid by the shipowners, of around €12 million.
According to sources in the sector, the maximum number of fishing vessels making use of the agreement has been 27 boats, because the pandemic or the high cost of diesel caused the fishermen to stay fishing closer to their own ports.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, between 21 and 50% of the fishing opportunities for Spain have been consumed.
Apart from the 93 Spanish permits, the agreement has benefited vessels from Lithuania, the Netherlands, Germany and Poland, mainly dedicated to pelagic species (sardines or herring) for the manufacture of flour.
The Secretary General of Cepesca, Javier Garat, has lamented the loss of the access. In a statement to the Spanish news outlet, Efeagro he said, “The temporary loss of a fishing ground due to the interruption of a historic agreement, will have impact on the vessels and because the Spanish fleet has ever less and less water in which to fish.”
Polisario, (aka, The Western Sahara Resource Watch) backed by a lobby group in the European Parliament, has accused Spain of trying to deepen the illegal fisheries agreement between the EU and Morocco.
“Getting involved in these illegal deals is a way to give money to Morocco. And Morocco is at war with us. That amounts to financing the war and Morocco’s blockade of the peaceful solution that the UN has been demanding for 30 years,” said Omar Mansour, the Front’s head of relations with the EU, at a press conference in Brussels.
The Council and the Commission of the EU have appealed the cancellation to the Court of Justice of the European Union, which is expected to rule on the case early next year.
In case of non-renewal of the agreement, the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF) will provide financial support to affected fishing vessels until the end of the year.