1
European Policies in West Africa: who Benefits from Fishery Agreements?
by Vlad M. Kaczyski
and Dave L. Fluharty
School of Marine AffairsUniversity of Washington
Seattle, USA
Symposium on Marine Fisheries, Ecosystems and Societies in West Africa:
Half a Century of Change
Dakar, June 24–28, 2002
2
International-legal framework for EU economic cooperation with developing countries:
• Maastricht Treaty (reduce poverty and promote sustainable development);
• Lome Convention IV (expired end of 1999): fishery cooperation is to promote development of ACP coastal states’ fishery resource use capabilities;
• Fishery cooperation agreements ( = commercial arrangements) signed by EU with West African coastal states.
3
Comparing the interests of the EU with those of West African Coastal States
Coastal States– Unloading harvested resources for
processing,
– Investment in land infrastructures,
– Participation of EU in resource conservation,
– Environmental protection,
– Transfer of technology and know-how,
– Creation of local harvesting and processing capabilities;
– Payment for access by distant water fleets.
EUEU– Fishery agreements are purely Fishery agreements are purely
commercial deals;commercial deals;– Harvested resources should be Harvested resources should be
processed in EU; processed in EU; – Agreements help to employ excess of Agreements help to employ excess of
EU fishing capabilities;EU fishing capabilities;– Minimum costs of exploitation; Minimum costs of exploitation; – Promotion of the employment of EU Promotion of the employment of EU
fishers and processing workers; fishers and processing workers; – Subsidies are to facilitate access to Subsidies are to facilitate access to
West African resources; West African resources; – Minimum information on EU fleet Minimum information on EU fleet
activity and on protocols to the activity and on protocols to the agreements.agreements.
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EU agreements in numbers
• In 1996 - US $ 229 million paid as subsidies to support EU fleets operating in West Africa;
• 14 agreements signed with African coastal states;
• 240 000 tons of catch per year in the region;
• 38 840 jobs in Europe including 13,440 fishers onboard 800 vessels;
• Added value through processing of African fish is approx. 100 million Euro per year.
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How do EU subsidies work?
• Coastal countries became increasingly dependent on hard currency revenues from payments by the European Commission (example: Guinea-Bissau receives over 40% of cash revenues from its Fishery agreements with the EU);
• Agreements do not limit the catch that EU fleets can take; rather, their total Gross Registered Tonnage (GRT) is negotiated and lump sums for the access are paid in several installments;
• Average yearly subsidy for EU fleets is paid in the form of pre-payment between 74 and 82% of the value of total license fees to be paid EU vessel owners for five main species groups (shrimp, demersal fish, molluscs, tuna and small pelagics);
• EU reserves to itself the right to increase negotiated fleet size if it decides that resource abundance justifies its decision.
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Main features considered in per country review of fisheries agreements*:
• Duration of the agreement;
• GRT of trawlers allowed to fish;
• Number of authorized tuna boats;
• Yearly ‘compensation’ (including dedicated funds).
*Kaczynski and Fluharty (2002, Marine Policy)
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Mauritania: agreements signed from 1987 - 2001
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
7/87 - 6/90 8/90 - 7/93 8/93 - 7/96 8/96 - 7/01*
GR
T (
103 )
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Nu
mb
er o
f tu
na
boa
ts
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
7/87 - 6/90 8/90 - 7/93 8/93 - 7/96 8/96 - 7/01*
Val
ue
(106 ;
Eu
ro)
8
Senegal 1988 - 2001
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
2/88 -2/90
5/90 -4/92
10/92-10/94
10/94-10/96
5/97-4/01*
GR
T (
103 )
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Nu
mb
er o
f tu
na
boa
ts
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
2/88 - 2/90 5/90 - 4/92 10/92-10/94
10/94-10/96
5/97-4/01*
Val
ue
(106 ;
Eu
ro)
9
The Gambia 1987 - 1996
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
7/87-6/90 7/90-6/93 7/93-6/96
GR
T (
103 )
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Nu
mb
er o
f tu
na
boa
ts
0.0
0.2
0.4
0.6
0.8
1.0
1.2
1.4
7/87-6/90 7/90-6/93 7/93-6/96
Val
ue
(106 ;
Eu
ro)
10
Republic of Guinea 1983 – 2001
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
2/83-2/86
2/86-2/89
1/90-1/91
1/92 -12/93
1/94 -12/95
1/95-12/97
1/98-12/99
GR
T (
103 )
0102030405060708090
Nu
mb
er o
f tu
na
boa
ts
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
2/83-2/86
2/86-2/89
1/90-1/91
1/92 -12/93
1/94 -12/95
1/95-12/97
1/98-12/99
Val
ue
(106 ;
Eu
ro)
11
Guinea-Bissau 1981 - 2001
02468
1012141618
1/81 -
12/8
5
6/86 -
6/89
6/89 -
6/91
6/91 -
6/93
6/93 -
6/95
6/95 -
6/97
6/97-
6/01
6/01-
6/06
GR
T (
103 )
0102030405060708090100
Nu
mb
er o
f tu
na
boa
ts
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
1/81 -12/85
6/86 -6/89
6/89 -6/91
6/91 -6/93
6/93 -6/95
6/95 -6/97
6/97-6/01
6/01-6/06
Val
ue
(106 ;
Eu
ro)
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EU fleet catches in Guinea-Bissau waters 1997
Shrimp24%
Cephalopods35%
Demersal fish27%
Other14%
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Foreign fleet activity in Guinea-Bissau EEZ: Catch composition 1997
Spain
Shrimp55%
Cephalopods15%
Demersal fish25%
Other5%
Portugal
Shrimp27%
Cephalopods2%
Demersal fish44%
Other27%
Italy
Shrimp8%
Cephalopods65%
Demersal fish17%
Other10%
14
Value of catch (incl. tuna) by four EU countries in Guinea-Bissau waters, 1996
05
1015202530354045
Spain Portugal Italy France
Val
ue
(106 ;
US
$)
15
Catch composition of foreign fleets: Guinea-Bissau 200 mile EEZ, 1997
All Catch Shrimps11%
Cephalopods13%
Demersal fish 76%
Target species:Demersal fish
Shrimp 8%
Demersal fish 92%
Shrimp 11%
Cephalopods 13%
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By-Catch of foreign fleets: Guinea-Bissau 200 mile EEZ, 1997
Shrimp
22.9%
Demersal Fish 63.8%
Cephalopods 13.3%
Target species: Shrimp
Shrimps 22.9%
Target species:
Cephalopods 67.2%
Shrimps 0.3%
Demersal Fish
32.5%
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Guinea-Bissau: estimated value of tuna harvested and license payments by all foreign tuna fleets (in US$)
-5
1015202530354045
19941995 -II
Sem
1996 19971998 -I Sem
Har
vest
val
ue
(106 ;
US
$)
-20406080100120140160
Lic
ense
pay
men
t (1
03 ; U
S$)
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Comparing economic benefits (dollar values) from coastal resources between
Guinea-Bissau and EU (1996)
European Union93%
Guinea-Bissau
7%
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Average Yearly Compensation (Subsidy) Benefiting EU Fleets Operating in Coastal Waters of the West African States
1993 - 1997
Average Yearly Operator's Share Compensation in License Payment
Coastal Country TOTAL (Euro) % (Euro) %
Mauritania 33,751 28,580 85 5,071 15Gambia 312 286 92 26 8Senegal 10,496 9,368 90 1,028 10Guinea-Bissau 9,431 6,912 74 2,419 26Rep. of Guinea 2,601 2,092 84 409 16
EU's Subsidies for European Operators
-
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Operator's Share in License
Payment
%
EU Compensation-subsidy
Conclusions
• The marine resources of West Africa still have a great potential to become an engine of growth and poverty reduction in the region, provided their use patterns are radically changed;
• Today, most of these resources is taken away by foreign fleets from the EU, countries from the former Soviet Bloc, and East Asian states;
• These fleets enjoy subsidies and support of business-as-usual international fishery cooperation agreements. There is no integration of their activity with the coastal states’ economies.
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What is needed?
By the EU: • A substantial transformation of the EU policy
toward coastal West African states
By the West African coastal states: • Joint sub-regional coordination of fishery
agreements with EU and other foreign entities;
• Internal policy reforms (improved investment climate, changing resource access laws, increased protection and conservation of the coastal resources).
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