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.
As the EU is negotiating a new protocol under the existing agreement, concrete steps should be taken to ensure the sustainable exploitation of sardinella in the region, including increased sampling of small pelagic catches, applying the recommendations of the FAO working group and starting consultations with neighbouring countries on joint management of shared stocks.
A significant proportion of EU funds used for Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements is earmarked for sectoral support - helping to develop sustainable fisheries in partner countries. However, analysis on the effectiveness of this sectoral support suggest considerable improvements are needed. Here we review the problems and offer our ideas on how the EU can make things better.
