In view of the global evaluation of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements (SFPAs) that will be carried out by the Commission in 2021, the author highlights the key points which will need to be assessed from the perspective of the impacts on African coastal communities. The author also suggests essential improvements to be made for the future of SFPAs so that they better respond to the needs of these communities.
Although the protocol does not allow European fleets to fish for small pelagics because they are overexploited, at least 4 European vessels have reportedly reflagged to Guinea-Bissau and are fishing for these species in the region, jeopardising the region's food security and competing with small-scale fisheries.
The author makes 4 recommendations to make the external dimension of the CFP more effective: (1) the EU should shift from access agreements to fisheries governance agreements, while (2) continuing to support informed participation of stakeholders in third countries; (3) it should also ensure that all vessels of EU origin, including those reflagged, abide by sustainability standards; and (4) it should actively engage, at international level, to promote transparent, fair, and sustainable access arrangements applicable to all fleets of foreign origin fishing in developing countries.
With Senegal’s yellow card, fisheries agreement negotiations between the EU and Senegal are at a standstill. Meanwhile, the EU will negotiate the renewal of its SFPA with The Gambia, whose waters are bordered on both sides by Senegal’s. How would access to the Gambian waters be used by EU fleets, at a time when they may be barred from Senegal waters?
At a time when the fisheries agreement is being renegotiated, Senegal is initiating a formal dialogue with the EU on the fight against IUU fishing. As part of this dialogue, the European Union has a responsibility to improve controls on vessels of European origin, and to impose heavy penalties when they fail to comply with the rules.
In this article, the author delves into the impacts of climate change and other challenges for São Tomé and Príncipe (STP) small-scale fishing communities. To develop the sector, the government is looking to develop offshore artisanal fishing. The author examines the factors that need to be considered for the upcoming renewal of the protocol of the EU-STP Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement (SFPA).
The author discusses the design of access fees for foreign fishing vessels in African countries and explains why these fees are low in most African nations. He also debates conditions under which industrial fishing vessels of foreign origin should be given access, or not, to African coastal countries waters, and argues for a re-think of access fees design.
In this article, Pieter van Welzen argues that states have an obligation to act against their nationals who are beneficial owners and are involved in illegal, unreported, and unregulated IUU fishing activities. For this, the author talks about the challenges for flag and coastal states to fight against IUU fishing in many cases, introduces indications in international law for beneficial owner state responsibility and summarizes key state practice.
West Africa has pioneered several decades of artisanal fisheries management reform. Yet there are still major obstacles to co-management: a lack of political will reflected in low budgetary allocations; inadequate and poorly targeted support for fisher organizations; poorly defined roles and responsibilities of fishers in co-management; lack of enforcement of inshore exclusive zones; and inadequate defense of human rights and particularly the important role of women.
JOINT LETTER: 11 African artisanal fisheries organisations and development NGOs send a letter to Commissioners Virginius Sinkevicius and Jutta Urpilainen asking them to use the crucial voice of the EU through Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements and the EU-Africa partnership to address the impending food crisis in the West African region linked to the fishmeal and fishoil production.
This article analyses a series of studies jointly commissioned by CAOPA and CFFA on areas reserved to artisanal fisheries in several African countries. The author sheds light on common challenges for protecting small-scale fishers access and the pressing need for better developing co-management in coastal fisheries, and looks into how can the EU support protection of small-scale fishers’ access to resources.
The latest minutes of the meeting of the last Joint Scientific Committee (JSC) of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Union and Mauritania reveal that there is still a long way to go to ensure that all EU fleets active in Mauritania fish sustainably, particularly as regards the control and limitation of by-catches and discards.
The Commission’s SFPA evaluation concludes that they are“fit for purpose” and identifies areas for improvement in the implementation of the governance framework. Most of these areas are under the responsibility of the partner country, which suggests that there is a lack of commitment from some partner countries to make these fishing agreements a success.
In a contribution sent to the European Commission, co-signed with 8 other civil society and environmental organisations, we highlight the most important points to be taken into account for the renewal of the protocol, to ensure that the fishing agreement has a positive impact for small-scale coastal fishing communities.
The European Parliament is set to give its consent at the end of May to the new Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement (SFPA) between the EU and Mauritius. This article outlines the challenges that Mauritian artisanal fisheries face and highlights the priorities for sectoral support in the future SFPA protocol to support this sector.
The European Commission has decided to assess the merits of concluding a Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement (SFPA) with the Republic of Angola. For a dialogue on sustainable fisheries in Angola, the EU will need to address the issue of total fishing effort and the framework within which joint ventures operate, as well as revising the presence of European-owned vessels with a bad track record.
At the beginning of February, the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission (IOTC) Contracting Parties, meeting in Kenya, adopted Conservation and Management Measures on both anchored and drifting Fish Aggregating Devices (FADs). These measures were welcomed by many Indian Ocean nations that consider FADs one of the main reasons of tuna overfishing in the region. An article by Beatrice Gorez and Hélène Bours.
PRESS RELEASE: On 21 February, the Commission presented several measures to improve the sustainability of the EU fisheries and aquaculture sector. It includes four elements: Energy Transition, an Action Plan to protect and restore marine ecosystems, a Communication on the "common fisheries policy today and tomorrow and a Report on the Common Market Organisation for fishery and aquaculture products. How will these impact African small-scale fishing communities?
For several decades, The Seychelles’ access agreements with Taiwanese companies contained articles preventing the publication of content without prior written approval of the other party. In 2021, as part of the Fisheries Transparency Initiative process, The Seychelles Government announced it would endeavour to remove confidentiality clauses from their fishing agreement.
