EU trawlers lose access to most important African fishery, Mauritania, in fees dispute
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [European Voice] By Andrew Gardner - December 11, 2014 -
EU loses fishing rights in the largest national fishery open to EU ships after dispute over fees.
European trawlers will from Monday (15 December) be prevented from fishing in the waters of what has been the most important African fishery open to EU ships because talks between the European Commission and Mauritania have collapsed.
The expiry of the bilateral deal, the largest of 17 fisheries agreements that the EU has with non-EU states, had been on the cards since October, when talks broke up with neither side willing to compromise on the sum that the EU pays for fishing rights.
The EU had been pressing for a cut in the annual fee, from the €67 million agreed in mid-2012 to €47m (a figure not confirmed by the Commission), after it became apparent that European fishermen have been making less use of the agreement than originally envisaged.
To Read Full Story Login Below.