The European Union has signed a fisheries agreement with Mauritania in west Africa. The deal was signed on 26 July and extends an agreement that was due to expire tomorrow. But fishermen say the EU has signed a bad deal.
The total cost to the EU budget for fishing rights off the coast of the former French colony will be EUR 70 million (USD 95 million) per year, according to the European Commission. The agreement allows EU ships to fish for demersal — a group of fish that lives or feeds near the bottom of the sea.
Under the new deal, shipowners’ fees will be substantially increased, which the commission says is in line with the principles of the Common Fisheries Policy. But fishermen in the area say that in a rush to get an agreement before the existing deal expired on 1 August, the EU has signed up to a bad deal.
