European Union and Guinea-Bissau renew agreement

The European Union (EU) and Guinea-Bissau on Monday signed a new three-year protocol as part of the Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the two, the European Commission said Monday in Brussels.
Vessels from the 28 Member States of the EU, mainly from Spain, France, Greece, Italy and Portugal, will now resume fishing in Guinea-Bissau waters after a break of two years because of the April 2012 coup d’etat.
The new protocol will allow 40 EU vessels to operate in Guinea-Bissau waters, in exchange for annual compensation of about 6 billion CFA francs (9.2 million euros).
Part of this compensation, almost 2 billion CFA francs, will be applied to development of national fishing by boosting Guinea-Bissau’s capacity for monitoring, control and surveillance of fisheries, as well as encouraging scientific cooperation, improving sanitary checks and providing support for artisanal fishing.
In addition to the compensation fees will be paid by shipowners for the licenses granted, which vary according to the type of ships and the quantities of fish. MDT/Macauhub