The European Union (EU) welcomed Friday, in a statement, the partnership described as win-win signed in the field of fisheries in a transparent and public regulatory framework, with Gabon.
This fisheries agreement, which has been in force since 2006, is implemented by triennial protocols specifying the tonnages of catches authorized by tuna vessels, as well as the financial compensation paid by the EU on public funds to Gabon and by the private owners of vessels.
This amounted to 9.7 million euros for the last protocol (2013-2016)
(6.363 billion FCFA). Since the expiry of the last protocol in 2016, negotiations for a new protocol are underway. Therefore, currently there are no fishing activities in Gabonese waters (Exclusive Economic Zone) by European vessels.
It should be recalled that the public funds made available to the Government of Gabon by the EU are used to support the development policy of Gabon’s fisheries sector and to monitor vessels by satellite and to carry out monitoring and observation missions.
One disadvantage remains, however: the absence of a tuna processing industry in Gabon. Thus, the catches made in Gabonese waters are landed in countries of sub-Saharan Africa and generate employment for the canning workforce of these countries.
By Antoine Lawson
