Over the next five years, fishermen from the southern EU countries may annually catch up to seven thousand tons of tuna and related species in Cape Verde’s territorial waters. This concerns 56 fishing vessels from France, Spain, and Portugal. In return, the EU provides at least 780,000 euros per year, of which 350,000 euros are for access rights and 430,000 euros for Cape Verdean fisheries policy and the 'blue economy.'
The fishing rights, which must be paid by the ship owners, can amount to nearly six tons per year. Furthermore, the agreement assists with fisheries monitoring and combating illegal and unregulated fishing. The treaty includes surveillance rules for vessels.
Dutch MEP and shadow rapporteur Anja Hazekamp (Party for the Animals) criticized the agreement, calling it 'a looting agreement.' 'Almost all fish species in the region are already maximally or overfished. The fish population in Cape Verde's waters has sharply declined over the past decades due to overfishing. These kinds of agreements are a very bad idea.'
Hazekamp said: 'While the indigenous Cape Verdean population fishes with boats three to eight meters long, the EU sends large industrial ships that catch millions of kilos of fish, thereby emptying the West African waters.' According to the Dutch MEP, vulnerable sharks and tuna species are also being hunted, among others.
Cape Verde is an island group off the west coast of Africa. The country gained independence from Portugal in the mid-1970s. Part of the Cape Verdean population relies on fishing. The first agreement with the EU dates back to 1990. The agreement extended last Tuesday is part of a network of EU agreements with West African coastal countries such as Morocco, Mauritania, and Guinea-Bissau.