New EU-Madagascar Fisheries Agreement Increases Shark Quota By 25 Percent
News Release
Presidency of the Government of Spain
Complejo de la Moncloa
23. June 2014
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Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Affairs welcomes renewal of EU-Madagascar Fisheries Agreement for a further four years
The new Protocol was signed yesterday in Antananarivo, the capital of Madagascar
The Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Affairs welcomes the renewal of the EU-Madagascar Fisheries Agreement for a further four years; an agreement that will replace the existing document when it expires on 31 December.
This agreement – signed yesterday in the capital of Madagascar, Antananarivo – includes a provisional application clause to ensure the continuity of fishing activity once the Council of the European Union has approved the text while awaiting its ratification by the European Parliament.
The renewal of this agreement – the negotiations for which were attended by the General Secretariat of Fisheries of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environmental Affairs – will allow for 22 tuna ships, 17 Spanish surface longliners and another 52 ships flying an EC flag to continue operating in the waters of this country under technical conditions similar to those currently in effect.
The text of the agreement has been adapted to the principles of the new Common Fisheries Policy, guaranteeing sustainability for fishing activity and improving fleet control standards through the application of an electronic system for the transmission of data about catches from European ships, to be sent directly from the Spanish Centre for Fisheries Monitoring to the fisheries authorities of Madagascar.
The improvements over the previous protocol include a 25% increase in the shark quota assigned to the European longline fleet, of which over 80% corresponds to the 17 longliners from Galicia.
Access to this fishing ground will represent a total disbursement of just over six million euros from the EU budget, of which 2.8 million euros will be spent on financing development aid projects in the fisheries sector. To this figure must be added a disbursement due to be made by the European ship-owners amounting to four million euros for the entire period, depending on the use made of agreed fishing allowances.
The swift conclusion of the Protocol enables a strengthened presence by the Spanish fleet in the Indian Ocean, thereby enhancing the network of EU Fisheries Agreements with other countries in the region (the Seychelles, the Comoros, Mozambique and Mauritius). The General Secretariat of Fisheries encourages the European Commission to continue working on expanding and consolidating the network of EU Fisheries Agreements with non-EU countries as a fundamental pillar of the Common Fisheries Policy.
Source: La Moncloa