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Cape Verde

Cape Verde

Cape Verde

Cape Verde

Sustainable fisheries partnership agreement

The current fisheries partnership agreement between the EU and Cape Verde entered into force on 20.3.2007 and it is tacitly renewed. The last protocol implementing the agreement entered into force on 20 May 2019 following the expiration of the previous protocol in December 2018.

This protocol implementing the fisheries agreement that is part of the tuna network fisheries agreements in West Africa.

The new protocol will cover a period of 4 years and will offer fishing opportunities for tuna and tuna-like species in Cape Verdean waters to 69 EU vessels from Spain, Portugal and France. 

In return, the EU will pay Cape Verde a financial contribution of €550 000 per year in the first two years of application of the protocol and of €500 000 per year in the last two years. Half of this yearly contribution will be earmarked to promote the sustainable management of fisheries in Cape Verde, including reinforcement of control and surveillance capacities, and to support the local fishing communities.

The protocol will enter into force when the necessary legislative procedures for its conclusion have been completed.

 

Main features of the SFPA

Duration of the agreement: Tacitly renewed since 2007
Duration of the protocol:  5 years (20.05.2019-19.05.2024)
Nature of the SFPA :  Tuna fishery agreement 
Financial contribution:  An annual contribution of €750 000 out of which €350 000 to support the fisheries sector of Cape Verde.
Fee for ship owners: It is estimated that the fees payable by vessel owners for the fishing authorisations amount to €600 000 per year.
First two years of application: €55 per tonne caught (purse seiners, longliners and pole-and-line vessels)
Last two years of application: €65 per tonne caught (purse seiners, longliners and pole-and-line vessels).
Fishing opportunities The protocol considers the following fishig opportunities for EU vessels:
28 freezer tuna seiners
14 pole-and-line tuna vessels
27 surface longliners.
These fishing opportunities target fishing for highly migratory species listed in Annex I to the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) , within the limits set in appendix 2 of this protocol and with the exception of species which are protected or prohibited within the framework of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) or other international conventions.
Reference tonnage: 8 000 t. /year
2019-2024 PROTOCOL
Fishing possibilities
  SPAIN FRANCE PORTUGAL TOTAL
Tuna seiners 16 12 - 28 vessels
Surface longliners 21 - 6 27 vessels
Pole and line 8 4 2 14 vessels

History

The first fisheries agreement concluded between the EU and Cape Verde dates back to 1990.

Current legal framework