Vessels from Spain, France and Portugal will be allowed to catch 6100 tonnes of tuna a year in Côte d’Ivoire’s economic zone, in return for €740,000 for access to the waters and other payments under an agreement that contributes to food security in the EU and to the development of Côte d’Ivoire’s fisheries sector.
Over the next four years the EU will contribute €740,000 annually, of which €305,000 guarantees access rights to 25 Union tuna purse seiners and seven surface longliners, from Spain, France and Portugal to Cote d’Ivoire’s waters.
A further €435,000 is earmarked to support the development of sustainable fisheries in Côte d’Ivoire, helping to grow the small-scale fisheries and aquaculture sector, improve scientific knowledge and administrative capacity, and enhance infrastructure such as the port of Abidjan.
EU vessel operators will also have to pay €80 per tonne of catch for the first two years, and €85 per tonne for the final two years. Fishing licences costing €12,000 per tuna seiner per year for the first two years and €12,750 afterwards, and €4,000 per surface longliner per year until 5 June 2027 and €4,250 afterwards will also be due to Côte d’Ivoire authorities.
The protocol aims to contribute to ensuring food security and an adequate supply of fish to EU markets, while also helping Côte d’Ivoire develop its fisheries sector.
Implementing control activities and sanctions to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing is a further key objective.
The protocol also states that the employment and labour conditions of fishers on board EU vessels must be in line with the conditions defined by the International Labour Organization (ILO) and the International Maritime Organization (IMO).
This entails freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining, elimination of forced and child labour, and healthy and decent working conditions on board. The protocol highlights the need to respect the recommendations of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), to which both the EU and Côte d’Ivoire are affiliated and which manages tuna-like species in the Atlantic Ocean.
