EU/Gambia Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement and Implementation Protocol
PURPOSE: to conclude the Partnership Agreement on Sustainable Fisheries between the European Union and The Gambia and the Protocol implementing the Partnership Agreement.
NON-LEGISLATIVE ACT: Council Decision (EU) 2020/392 on the conclusion of the Partnership Agreement on Sustainable Fisheries between the European Union and the Republic of The Gambia and the Protocol implementing that Partnership Agreement.
CONTENTS: the Council decided to approve, on behalf of the Union, the EU-Gambia sustainable fisheries partnership agreement and the protocol implementing the EU-Gambia sustainable fisheries partnership agreement.
The Partnership Agreement repeals the Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Government of the Republic of The Gambia on fishing off The Gambia, which entered into force on 2 June 1987. The Partnership Agreement and the Protocol have been applied provisionally from the date of their signature.
The main objective of the new Agreement is to provide an updated framework, taking into account the priorities of the reformed Common Fisheries Policy and its external dimension, by granting fishing opportunities for European Union vessels in Gambian waters, taking into account available scientific evaluations, while promoting a sustainable fisheries policy and the responsible exploitation of fisheries resources, in the interest of both Parties.
The new Protocol implementing the Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Union and The Gambia covers a period of six years from the date of its provisional application and is tacitly renewable.
The fishing opportunities granted to EU vessels under the Protocol concern:
- highly migratory species - 28 tuna seiners and 10 pole-and-line vessels;
- deep-sea demersal species - 3 trawlers.
The total financial contribution paid by the Union is set at EUR 3 300 000, i.e. EUR 550 000 per year.
An annual amount of EUR 275 000 shall be paid by the European Union for access to fisheries resources in the Gambian fishing zone, equivalent to a reference tonnage, for highly migratory species, of 3 300 tonnes per year, while the other half of the annual contribution shall be used for structural support to strengthen the sustainable management of fisheries resources and the development of the Gambian fisheries sector.
The Agreement covers in particular cooperation in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and measures in favour of the blue economy, including aquaculture. In addition, special support shall be given to the artisanal fisheries sector.
The Partnership Agreement establishes the Joint Committee responsible for monitoring its implementation. It provides for a procedure for approving amendments to the Protocol to be adopted by the Joint Committee.
ENTRY INTO FORCE: 5.3.2020.