The protocol implementing the fisheries agreement between Senegal and the European Union (EU) expires on November 17, 2024, five years after the start of its application. Due to the failures observed in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, the EU cannot consider renewing the protocol until there is sufficient progress by Senegal in this area. According to the EU, the agreement in question brought the Senegalese state a contribution of 8.5 million euros over five years, to which are added the royalties paid by the shipowners.
The European Commission has pre-identified Senegal as a non-cooperating country in the fight against IUU (illegal, undeclared and unregulated) fishing. This decision is part of the EU’s zero tolerance policy towards IUU fishing and follows several years of discussion with the Senegalese authorities. For the sake of political coherence, the European Commission has adopted the principle of suspending any renewal of a protocol implementing a fisheries partnership agreement with a coastal state until this decision is withdrawn.
According to the European Union, a formal dialogue between Senegalese and European authorities on IUU fishing issues has opened, with the aim of resolving the problems identified. Pending favorable developments, the fishing agreement between the EU and Senegal will not be renewed. European vessels will therefore have to leave Senegal’s waters when the protocol expires on November 17, and Senegal will no longer receive a financial contribution under the fishing agreement. “The cessation of fishing in Senegalese waters will concern 18 Spanish and French boats, which fish for tropical tuna and hake and do not represent real competition for Senegalese fishing,” he said. As a reminder, the absence of a fishing protocol between the EU and Senegal is not a first. Between 2006 and 2014, the agreement was in fact stopped, allowing both parties to evaluate and renegotiate the conditions. The meeting of the Joint Commission in Brussels on November 5 and 6 allowed Senegal and the EU to have constructive exchanges. The partners agreed to use this non-renewal period to evaluate the results obtained under the current agreement. The EU remains ready to support Senegal in its efforts to combat IUU fishing and to help it remedy the shortcomings observed.
“The European Commission takes note of the commitments of the new Senegalese Government to remedy the weaknesses of the control and traceability system of the fishing sector and products, and remains available to support and assist Senegal in these efforts,” notes- we say in their press release.
Senegal
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