The Joint Committee under the EU- Mauritania Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement (SFPAs) will meet in Nouakchott from 4 to 6 December 2024. In this article, the author makes a number of recommendations in the light of the conclusions of the Fishery Committee of the Eastern Central Atlantic.
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The Joint Committee under the fisheries agreement between Mauritania and the EU will be held in Nouakchott from 4 to 6 December 2024. The two parties will discuss the results of the Joint Scientific Committee (JSC), a possible revision of technical measures, and the use of sectoral support.
At an information meeting with European stakeholders, European Commission representatives indicated that they would take into account the report of the last CECAF working group, held in July 2024, on the state of small pelagic resources off the coast of North-West Africa. This report, to which scientists from the Mauritanian Institute of Oceanographic Research and Fisheries (IMROP) contributed, shows that the situation of small pelagics in the region is alarming: five out of nine small pelagic stocks - sardine (in Area C), round sardinella, flat sardinella, Atlantic horse mackerel and ethmalose (bonga) - are overexploited.
The CECAF report highlights the alarming situation of the stocks of round and flat sardinella, and recommends a substantial and immediate reduction in the fishing effort of 60%. The Working Group also recommends maintaining the ban on the use of sardinella for fishmeal production in Mauritania and extending it throughout the sub-region. Finally, the report stresses the urgency to take actions – such as biological rest, zoning, setting minimum sizes and capacity management – to improve the resilience of these resources in a context of climate change.
The first question is how this necessary 60% regional reduction in the fishing effort on sardinella will be reflected at Mauritanian level, particularly in the sardinella management plan put in place as part of the new fisheries protocol with the EU, whose implementation has been slow. As the Joint Scientific Committee pointed out in 2023: “Without regional management and an agreement on the distribution of the total allowable catch (TAC) between the coastal countries, it is impossible to establish a surplus for each coastal state separately.” It is also difficult for the EU to promote restrictive measures at Mauritanian level without pursuing the same approach with other partner countries in the sub-region affected by these fisheries.
“The FAO working group on the assessment of small pelagic fish off Northwest Africa recommends an immediate reduction in fishing effort of 60% for round and flat sardinella; the continuation of the ban on the use of sardinella for the production of fish oil and fishmeal; the implementation of biological rest, zoning, the setting of minimum sizes and capacity management.””
The Joint Committee has the responsibility to raise important questions: what restrictions could be applied to all fleets fishing sardinella in Mauritania, and what consequences would it have on the implementation of the sardinella management plan? How can Mauritania be supported in continuing to reduce the processing of small pelagics into fish oil and fishmeal? How can similar measures be promoted in the countries concerned to ensure that efforts are effective?
Along with its CAOPA partners, CFFA is calling for a drastic reduction in the fishing effort and for the countries of the sub-region to review the criteria for allocating access: access to small pelagic resources, particularly sardinella, should be reserved for those fishing for human consumption.
1. “Oversized” agreement: a revision of the financial compensation ahead?
The Commission informs that the utilisation rate of fishing opportunities under this protocol is generally very low, averaging only 30% of the negotiated fishing opportunities. For example, the European pelagic fleet is currently responsible for less than 10% of small pelagic catches in the country.
This raises the question of whether fishing opportunities should be reviewed in a possible future protocol to bring them more “in line with reality”, which, in the current configuration of SFPAs, would lower the financial compensation.
However, the costs of sustainable management and exploitation of Mauritanian fisheries under the agreement, in particular for the implementation of the sardinella management plan, will remain high for Mauritania. In addition, to maximise the benefits for the country and local populations, investment is still required. On this point, the European Commission has, for example, informed stakeholders that a protocol is being finalised for a derogation from the obligation for larger vessels to land locally, given the current lack of adequate infrastructure. While the Commission has assured that this measure will not affect landings of the 2% of small pelagic catches destined for local markets, this underlines the need to support investment in landing infrastructure, so that Mauritania can reap greater benefits from the agreement.
These high costs and a possible lower financial contribution from the SFPA illustrate CFFA's request to decouple the financial compensation for access under SFPAs from the level of fishing opportunities. This would enable the EU to make a greater commitment to sustainable management by eventually using the entire financial contribution from the SFPA to support Mauritania's efforts to establish a framework for good governance and sustainable fishing.
Small-scale fishers in the region are calling for a reserved access to small pelagic resources. These resources should be prioritised for human consumption. Photo: Michał Huniewicz.
Recently, coordination meetings have been organised between donors, which is welcome. It is important to go further and set up a formal internal mechanism, at EU level, for coordination and alignment between the SFPAs and European development cooperation initiatives, such as Promopêche in Mauritania, or the actions taken by European Member States, such as Germany or Spain that promote sustainable fisheries in Mauritania.
2. Fishery observers on board and bycatches: two recurring issues
The JSC points out that, generally speaking, in Mauritania “the observer corps is ageing and demotivated: conditions on board are difficult and remuneration is not attractive.” As a result, “observer coverage at sea has been low in recent years.” The Committee stresses the urgent need for “the industry and EU scientists to work together to resolve this situation in order to ensure adequate sampling coverage of EU trawlers, in accordance with EU regulations.”
CFFA supports the scientists' request that the observation programme should offer “better pay and training conditions to encourage young persons to accept to embark on board fishing vessels.” This could be given greater attention in the sectoral support package.
The European Commission has reiterated the fact that not all shipowners comply with the obligation to take observers on board. We have been denouncing the situation since 2020, particularly on board Latvian and Lithuanian pelagic trawlers. This situation has not been resolved despite the measures provided for in the latest protocol not to allow vessels that do not embark observers to leave port. As the JSC points out, observers must be taken on board in all fleets. Insofar as observers are available, failure to take observers on board as provided for in the protocol should be penalised by withdrawal of the fishing authorisation granted by the EU.
3. Bycatches, really?
The CSC also recommends that the Joint Committee pay attention to the “recurrent and significant overshooting of the authorised quotas of bycatches, all species taken together, in the landings of the European fleet.” It notes that some of these species are also target species of other categories included in the protocol, such as hake, and are in a state of overexploitation.
During the exchange with the European Commission, representatives of European shrimp vessels went against this recommendation and requested changes to the technical measures enabling them to fish a greater percentage of bycatches, in particular octopus, a species of high commercial value targeted by Mauritanian small-scale fisheries. Over the last 3 years (2021 to 2023), the bycatch landed by the Spanish fleet has remained within the limits authorised by the agreement, including 8% cephalopods, mainly octopus.
For CFFA and its partners in Mauritanian small-scale fisheries, access to octopus, which is still overexploited, must be reserved for national fisheries, particularly small-scale fisheries. The rule is simple: European vessels must not have access to octopus, either as a target catch or as a bycatch.
With regard to bycatches, another recurring problem was raised: bycatches of hake by deep-sea pelagic trawlers. Between 2008 and 2023, these bycatches have literally exploded, rising from around 100 tonnes in 2008 to several thousand tonnes, with a peak of 5,175 tonnes in 2021. From 2022 onwards, these catches decrease, but remain above 1,000 tonnes in 2023. The Joint Scientific Committee points out that “deep-sea pelagic fishing is responsible for an average of 89% of by-catches [of hake] between 2019 and 2023.”
The JSC recommends ensuring a breakdown by species of catches, target and bycatch, for all fleets, and taking measures to reduce catches of hake by other fleets, particularly pelagic fleets.
It is essential that bycatches are limited as much as possible in the fisheries covered by the agreement, including through zoning measures, and through measures leading to greater selectivity in catches: “better to sort at sea than on the deck.”
Banner photo: Artisanal port in Nouakchott. Fishers temporarily moor a traditional pirogue while they unload the fish. Photo by Michał Huniewicz.
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.