Subject: Breach of the fisheries agreement with Senegal
The EU fishing fleet – and the Basque pole-and-line fleet in particular – operating off Senegal under the fisheries agreement has been unable to fish on a regular basis for 21 months now, owing to a ban introduced by Senegal that prevents EU vessels from entering the Bay of Hann and obtaining live bait. Furthermore, on 1 January 2022, the Government of Senegal decided not to issue new licences to European vessels.
This situation is intolerable for the European vessels affected by Senegal’s decisions. It is also a clear breach of the fisheries agreement concluded in July 2019.
With that in mind:
1. What steps is the Commission taking to remedy the intolerable situation faced by the vessels that are unable to sail in Senegalese waters?
2. Will the fishers affected be given EU aid with a view to going some way towards alleviating the situation that has arisen?
Answer given by Mr Sinkevičius on behalf of the European Commission (22 July 2022)
The Commission is aware that the ban on access to the Bay of Hann has strongly affected the bait boats fleet. In this context, several demarches have been undertaken by the Commission at all levels.
In the framework of the Extraordinary Joint Committee of the Fisheries Agreement EU-Senegal, that took place on 25 and 26 March 2022, the EU also made a concrete proposal to Senegal with a series of spatial and temporal limitations that could allow access of the bait boats fleet to the Bay of Hann and to which the Commission is still waiting for a response from the Senegalese government.
While a solution has not been found to date, the Commission continues to engage intensively with Senegal to find a solution.
On the other hand, the second wider issue of the non-issuance of licences since 1 January 2022 to all segments of the fleet was finally resolved, after numerous contacts at high political level, when Senegal on 1 June 2022 issued the fishing licences that had been paid for by the operators and for which the access component had also been paid by the EU.
With regard to possible support to the fishers affected, the situation faced by the bait boats due to the ban on access to the bay of Hann does unfortunately not meet the criteria for granting compensation under Article 21(2)(d) of Regulation (EU) 2021/1139 on the European Maritime, Aquaculture and Fisheries Fund (i.e. an interruption of the Agreement due to force majeure).
Regarding the situation faced by the EU fleet due to the non-issuance of licences by the Senegalese authorities, consultations are still held on whether a compensation could be granted.