Following strong approval from the European Union Parliament, E.U. vessels will be permitted to scavenge for shrimp, tuna and other species in Mauritania’s Exclusive Economic Zone under a new four-year agreement recently struck in Brussels.
The new protocol has been followed provisionally by E.U. fishing vessels in the interim between November 2015 and May while awaiting official approval. It now replaces a recently expired treaty.
The accord provides for payments to be made to Mauritania from the E.U. in the amount of $66.8 million annually: $62,1 million for total allowable catches plus $4.7 million to support the African nation’s continued policy development.
The E.U. Parliament approved the treaty by 585-41, with 41 abstentions. The earliest arrangements with Mauritania date back to 1989, with accords renewed periodically via bilateral negotiations.
The contract specifies specific breeds as well as species classified by location, being demersal fish and pelagic fish. Demersal fish are those classified as bottom feeders, generally with much lower fish oil content than pelagic fish, which live and feed at shallower ocean depths.
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