EC/Guinea fisheries agreement: protocol for the period from 1st January 2003 to 31st December 2003

PURPOSE: to extend the fishing protocol between the European Community and the Revolutionary People's Republic of Guinea by one year. CONTENT: in 2002 a scientific survey was commissioned which sought to establish the state of fishing resources off the coast of Guinea. Due to techincal difficulties this had to be postponed from June 2002 to October 2002. As a result of this delay critical data relating to fishing resources was only made available at the beginning of 2003. In the absence of further scientific and technical data the two parties concluded that a fishing Protocal establishing longer term goals will be difficult to define. Thus, the EU and Guinea are now seeking a second one-year extension of the existing Protocol. This extension, in the form of an Exchange of Letters, sets out the technical and financial conditions governing the fishing activites of Community vessels off the Guinean coast from 1 January 2003 to 31 December 2003. The Commission therefore, proposes an adoption of the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters on the extention of the Protocal.�