91999E1854

WRITTEN QUESTION E-1854/99

by Carmen Fraga Estévez (PPE-DE) to the Commission

(13 October 1999)

Subject: Mauritanian inspectors and the Community fleet

For some months now, Community black hake fishermen working under the EU-Mauritania Fisheries Agreement have been protesting to the Commission about dubious Mauritanian inspection methods giving rise to totally unjustified fines.

The methods consist of weighing six of the fullest boxes of fish with Roman scales, the apparent purpose being to show that more fish are actually being caught than are recorded in the daily register, since the boxes in question are changed around until the inspectors obtain the weight they want.

No account is taken of the fact that not all boxes weigh the same, since four separate sortings are carried out on board, while boxes containing the earlier catches also contain a larger quantity of ice to keep them fresh. Furthermore, the use of Roman scales is completely unreliable under any circumstances, and quite unjustifiable on board a ship at sea. It should also be noted that these vessels catch an average 3 000 boxes, which means that the six boxes weighed account for only 0,2 of the total. Finally, black hake is not quota-bound.

What steps is the Commission going to take vis-à-vis the Mauritanian authorities to put an end to inspections of this kind?

Answer given by Mr Fischler on behalf of the Commission

(18 November 1999)

Mauritania holds exclusive competence for inspection at sea of fishing activities in waters under its sovereignty.

The Commission however, which has been several times notified of the procedures adopted, has already raised the matter with the Mauritanian authorities, the last occasion being in May 1999 when the Adviser to the Mauritanian Fisheries Minister visited Brussels.

The Community pointed out that monitoring and inspection procedures for fishing activities needed to be adjusted to ensure fair and equitable treatment.

The Commission will raise the matter again at the next meeting of the joint committee responsible for attending to proper working of the Agreement.