EU fisheries agreement with Senegal

Subject: EU fisheries agreement with Senegal

The coast of Senegal is one of the most important fishing grounds for the European fleet in the Atlantic. Allowing for a reference tonnage of 14 000 tonnes per year, the EU’s fisheries protocol with Senegal offers fishing opportunities to 28 freezer tuna seiners, 10 pole-and-line vessels, 5 longliners and 2 hake trawlers.

The agreement is particularly important for the fleet of pole-and-line vessels, which have based their operations in Dakar for two decades. The licences for eight freezer tuna purse seiners from the Basque Country and Galicia were processed and paid for 2022. These seiners work with two support ships, three pole-and-line vessels from the Basque Country and Cantabria, and two Galician demersal hake trawlers based in the Canary Islands. In light of the numerous problems with Senegal fishing licences:

1. Can the Commission confirm that Senegal fishing licences are still valid for 2024 so that the fleet can continue to fish there?

2. When does the Commission intend to begin negotiations to renew the fisheries agreement protocol with Senegal, which is currently set to end on 17 November 2024?

Submitted:17.1.2024

Answer given by Mr Sinkevičius on behalf of the European Commission (7 March 2024)

The Commission is fully aware of the importance of the fisheries agreement with Senegal for the EU fleet, especially for the Spanish fleet.

The Senegalese authorities have issued on 31 January 2024 the provisional list of EU vessels authorised to fish in Senegal. The definitive list should be issued in the coming days.

As for the ex-post ex-ante evaluation of the ongoing protocol, the work undertaken by an independent evaluator is still ongoing. Once finalised, the results of this evaluation will be taken into account, when considering possible future negotiations with Senegal regarding a new fisheries protocol.

The Commission is following closely the developments of the political situation in Senegal.