EC/Guinea fisheries agreement: protocol for the period from 1st January 1998 to 31 December 1999

OBJECTIVE: conclusion of a new fisheries protocol between the Community and Guinea setting the technical and financial conditions for the fishing activities of Community vessels in the waters of this country for the period from 1 January 1998 to 31 December 1999. SUBSTANCE: The new protocol which was initialled by the two parties on 11 December 1997 provides for the following fishing possibilities: - licences for fin-fish and cephalopod trawlers: 4 000 grt per year; - licences for shrimp trawlers: 1 000 grt per year; - licences for 33 freezer tuna seiners; - licences for 13 pole-and-line tuna vessels; - licences for 28 surface longliners. The fishing possibilities for fin-fish and cephalopod trawlers can also be increased at the request of the Community by successive instalments of 1 000 grt a year. The protocol also provides that where appropriate the joint committee set up under the EC Guinea fisheries agreement can include new categories of fish and lay down the technical conditions under which they can be fished by Community fishermen. In the proposal for a regulation these various fishing possibilities are distributed between five Member States: Spain, Italy, Greece, France and Portugal. If licence applications from these states do not exhaust the fishing possibilities the Commission may consider licence applications from any other Member State. In exchange for the fishing possibilities provided for under the protocol, Guinea will receive overall financial compensation of ECU 6 500 000 for the duration of the Protocol, covering both the financial compensation for Guinea for the fishing possibilities and the funding by the Community of various fisheries activities (scientific programmes, support for fishery surveillance bodies, awards for study, etc.). If the fishing possibilities provided are to be increased, the financial compensation would be increased commensurately. The annex to the protocol contains details concerning the conditions governing fishing by Community vessels. These details include the arrangements for obtaining fishing licences by type of vessel, the formalities relating to statements of catch and landing of catches and other provisions on the signing- on of Guinean seamen and observers, monitoring of fishing, fishing zones and the meshes authorized. �