EU vessels to cease fishing in Senegal after accord expires

European fishing vessels will imminently cease activities in Senegalese waters after the non-renewal of an agreement between Brussels and Dakar, EU ambassador Jean-Marc Pisani said Tuesday.

The accord between the European Union and the West African country has been in force since 2019 and is due to expire at midnight between Sunday and Monday.

Pisani said the agreement would not be renewed for the time being after the European Commission notified the Senegalese government in May of "shortcomings" regarding illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing.

"European boats will stop fishing in Senegal's exclusive economic zone from midnight on November 17", Pisani told journalists in the capital Dakar.

"These European boats will be able -- it will be up to the shipowners -- to continue fishing elsewhere", he said, citing agreements between the EU and Senegal's neighbours, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania and Cape Verde.

"It would not be consistent for the European Union, which has a zero-tolerance policy towards IUU (illegal, unreported and unregulated) fishing, to renew an agreement with countries that have been notified of this type of problem", he said.

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The cessation of fishing in Senegalese waters will affect 18 Spanish and French vessels, which catch tropical tuna and hake and do not represent any real competition for the Senegalese fishing sector, he said.

Fishing is an economic and cultural pillar in Senegal.

It provides a direct or indirect livelihood for some 600,000 people out of a population of around 18 million, according to a widely accepted figure.

The roughly 50,000 Senegalese fishermen work mainly in traditional wooden vessels known as pirogues.

Fishermen regularly complain about competition from foreign vessels, which they blame for the shortage of fish.

Source: AFP