European Tuna Fleet Faces Exit From Mauritanian Waters

With the EU-Mauritania Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement (SFPA) set to expire in a week, on November 14, the future of the European fishing fleet operating in Mauritanian waters remains uncertain. Costas Kadis, the EU Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans, had a meeting with Mauritania’s Fisheries Minister Aïssata Lam two weeks ago, but the talks yielded no significant breakthrough. Without a renewed agreement, EU tuna and other fishing vessels will soon have to leave the country’s waters.

With financial compensation emerging as the main sticking point, European shipowners have offered to increase their payments by 10 percent to Mauritania. However, they say there is little room for further trade-offs amid surging diesel prices and falling consumption, La Voz de Galicia reported. Under the existing 2021–2026 EU-Mauritania fisheries agreement, up to 44 EU tuna vessels (purse seiners, longliners, and pole-and-liners) are authorised to fish in Mauritanian waters.