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having regard to the draft Council decision (12208/2021),

—

having regard to Council Decision (EU) 2021/99 of 25 January 2021 on the conclusion of the Agreement in the form of an Exchange of Letters between the European Union and the Islamic Republic of Mauritania on an extension to the Protocol setting out the fishing opportunities and financial contribution provided for in the Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Community and the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, expiring on 15 November 2021 (1),

—

having regard to the Council Decision (EU) 2021/2123 of 11 November 2021 on the signing, on behalf of the European Union, and provisional application of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Union and the Islamic Republic of Mauritania and the Implementing Protocol thereto (2),

—

having regard to its legislative resolution of 8 June 2022 (3) on the draft decision,

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having regard to the Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Community and the Islamic Republic of Mauritania, which entered into force on 8 August 2008 (4),

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having regard to the Partnership Agreement on sustainable fisheries between the European Union and the Islamic Republic of Mauritania (5),

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having regard to its resolution of 3 May 2022 toward a sustainable blue economy in the EU: the role of the fisheries and aquaculture sectors (6),

—

having regard to the request for consent submitted by the Council in accordance with Article 43(2) and Article 218(6) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) (C9-0419/2021),

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having regard to the Partnership Agreement of 23 June 2000 between the members of the African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) Group of States of the one part, and the European Community and its Member States, of the other part (7) (the Cotonou Agreement),

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having regard to the publication of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of 2015 entitled ‘Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries in the Context of Food Security and Poverty Eradication’,

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having regard to the 2020 summary report of the FAO Working Group on the assessment of small pelagic fish off Northwest Africa 2019,

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having regard to the common fisheries policy, especially its external dimension,

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having regard to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea,

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having regard to the EU’s commitment to policy coherence for development, as enshrined in Article 208 TFEU,

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having regard to the Commission’s ex ante and ex post assessments of the previous agreement and protocol,

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having regard to the report of the extraordinary meeting of the Joint Scientific Committee on the Fisheries Agreement signed between the Islamic Republic of Mauritania and the European Union, which took place between 10 and 12 February 2021,

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having regard to its resolution of 20 October 2021 on a farm to fork strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system (8),

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having regard to Rule 105(2) of its Rules of Procedure,

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having regard to the opinions of the Committee on International Trade and Committee on Development,

—

having regard to the report of the Committee on Fisheries (A9-0154/2022),

A.

whereas the implementation of sustainable fisheries partnership agreements (SFPAs) must be in line with the best scientific advice available to ensure sustainable fishing operations that only utilise the surplus allowable catch in the partner country; whereas sectoral support should contribute to the sustainable development of the fisheries sector, notably via support for small-scale fisheries, while also strengthening local food security and local communities;

B.

whereas the first fisheries agreement between the European Union and the Islamic Republic of Mauritania dates back to 1987 and whereas the latest implementing protocol, which had an initial duration of four years from 2015 to 2019, was twice extended for one year and expired on 15 November 2021;

C.

whereas the Union and Mauritania reached an agreement on a new Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement and Protocol on 28 July 2021;

D.

whereas several SFPAs have been signed by the European Union and African countries;

E.

whereas the new protocol covers a period of five years and provides similar fishing opportunities to the previous protocol, with the Union’s financial contribution for access to fisheries amounting to EUR 57,5 million a year and its contribution to sectoral support totalling EUR 16,5 million;

F.

whereas the Fisheries Partnership Agreement with Mauritania is the EU’s largest mixed agreement; whereas it provides fishing opportunities for vessels from 10 Member States targeting demersal and pelagic species which, like tuna, are highly migratory species, within the limits of the available surplus as defined in Article 62 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, taking into account the fishing capacity of the Mauritanian fleets;

G.

whereas the overfishing of small pelagic stocks, especially Sardinella, and the processing of them into fishmeal and fish oil cause enormous damage not only to local waters, for instance through waste-water pollution, but also to the food security of local populations throughout the West African region; whereas in 2017, Mauritania committed to reducing and gradually phasing out fishmeal and fish oil production by 2020; whereas since 2010, their production has tripled and there has been an expansion of fishmeal factories in Mauritania and neighbouring countries;

H.

whereas robust scientific data, efficient monitoring, control systems and transparency on catches and fishing licences are necessary for coastal states to determine the available surplus of shared stocks of small pelagics and to ensure that management decisions for stocks can be taken such that they are not harvested above scientific limits; whereas regarding the management of small pelagics in Mauritania, the 2021 report of the extraordinary meeting of the Joint Scientific Committee supported additional measures to reduce fishing efforts in the country’s 15 nautical miles fishing zone, such as introducing quotas for stocks that have been scientifically confirmed to be overexploited;

I.

whereas sectoral support under the new protocol is geared towards eight areas of intervention; whereas these include, inter alia, support for artisanal fisheries and coastal communities, the strengthening of scientific research and the strengthening of control and surveillance activities and technical support to the Mauritanian authorities; whereas the joint committee will approve a multiannual sectoral programme for the use of such support; whereas the Mauritanian authorities have an obligation to submit a final report on the implementation of sectoral support;

J.

whereas the new protocol establishes a new coordination body (cellule de coordination) to support the implementation of the projects defined in the programme and that will be responsible for monitoring the decisions of the joint committee;

K.

whereas Article 7 of the new protocol allows the Union and Mauritania to review the fishing opportunities in the third year of implementation, respecting the sustainability of resources in the fishing area and involving an adjustment of the EU’s financial contribution;

L.

whereas the new protocol introduces differing vessel owners’ fees for category 6 (pelagic freezer trawlers) which are more in accordance with the market value of each specific pelagic species fished for;

M.

whereas Article 3 of the new agreement states that the EU fleet has to benefit from the same technical conditions for fishing and access to resources as all other fleets; whereas the same article requires the strengthening of the exchange of information and obliges Mauritania to make public all agreements allowing foreign vessels into its fishing zone;

N.

whereas the new protocol modifies and enlarges the fishing zone for small pelagics for EU vessels; whereas Article 9 of the protocol requires Mauritania to draw up, within six months of the protocol’s implementation, a sustainable management plan for small pelagic fisheries, applicable to all fleets fishing in Mauritanian waters as a condition for the establishment of the new fishing zone; whereas EUR 7,5 million of the Union's financial contribution is conditional on the approval of this management plan by the joint committee;

O.

whereas the new protocol allows EU vessels to land their catch outside Mauritanian ports in exceptional circumstances, a long-standing request of the EU fishing vessels active in Mauritania;

P.

whereas the Commission’s assessment of the previous protocol called for the establishment of a regional management framework for the exploitation of shared stocks of small pelagics and black hake, as is required by Article 63 of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea;

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