PROTOCOL defining, for the period from 18 January 1996 to 17 January 1999, the fishing opportunities and financial contribution provided for by the Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Republic of Seychelles on fishing off Seychelles

Article 1

Pursuant to Article 2 of the Agreement, and notwithstanding Article 12 of the Agreement relating to further periods of the Agreement, licences to fish simultaneously in Seychelles waters shall be granted to 42 ocean-going tuna seiners and 15 surface longliners not exceeding 37 m length overall, for a period of three years beginning on 18 January 1996.

Article 2

The financial compensation referred to in Article 6 of the Agreement shall be fixed at ECU 6 900 000 for the period provided for in Article 1 of this Protocol, payable in three equal annual instalments. The financial compensation corresponds to a catch of 46 000 tonnes of tuna per year in Seychelles' waters. If the catch by Community vessels in Seychelles' waters exceeds 46 000 tonnes, the Community shall increase the financial compensation proportionately.

Article 3

The Community shall also pay, during the period referred to in Article 1, a contribution of ECU 2 700 000 payable in three equal annual instalments, towards the financing of scientific programmes in the Seychelles to gain greater knowledge of fish stocks concerning the region of the Indian Ocean surrounding the Seychelles Islands, particularly in respect of highly migratory species, and the purchase or maintenance or both, as Seychelles may think fit, of equipment to improve the administrative structure relating to fisheries in Seychelles.

The Seychelles authorities shall forward to the Commission services a brief report on the way that amount is used.

Article 4

The two parties hereby agree that an essential condition for the success of their cooperation is that the skills and know-how of persons engaged in sea fishing be improved. To this end, the Community will assist Seychellois nationals in finding places in establishments in its Member States or States with which it has concluded Cooperation Agreements and will make available an amount of ECU 300 000 for study or practical training awards with a maximum duration of five years in the various scientific, technical and economic subjects relating to fisheries. Of this amount, up to ECU 100 000 may be used, at the request of the Seychelles' authorities, to cover the cost of attending international meetings relating to fisheries.

Article 5

The Protocol and Annex I, dated 18 and 17 January 1990 respectively, to the Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Republic of Seychelles on fishing off Seychelles which came into force on 28 October 1987 are hereby repealed and replaced by this Protocol and Annex I.

Article 6

This Protocol and Annex I shall enter into force on the date of their signature.

This Protocol and Annex I shall be applicable from 18 January 1996.

ANNEX I

CONDITIONS FOR THE PURSUIT OF FISHING ACTIVITIES BY COMMUNITY VESSELS IN SEYCHELLES' WATERS

1. Licence application and issuing formalities

The procedure for applications for, and issue of, licences enabling Community vessels to fish in Seychelles' waters shall be as follows:

(a) the Commission of the European Communities shall present to the Seychelles Fishing Authority, via the representative of the Commission of the European Communities in the Seychelles, an application, made by the shipowner, for each vessel that wishes to fish under this Agreement, at least 20 days before the date of commencement of the period of validity requested. The application shall be made on the form provided for that purpose by the Seychelles, a specimen of which is annexed as Appendix 1;

(b) every licence shall be issued for one designated vessel. At the request of the European Commission, the licence for a vessel may, and, in cases of force majeure, will be replaced by a licence for another Community vessel;

(c) the licences shall be delivered by the authorities of the Seychelles to the shipowners, or their representatives or agents. The representative of the Commission of the European Communities shall be notified of the licences granted by the authorities of Seychelles;

(d) the licence document must be held on board at all times; however, on reception of notification of payment of the advance sent to the Seychellois authorities by the European Commission, the vessel shall be entered on a list of vessels authorized to fish, which shall be sent to the Seychellois authorities responsible for fisheries inspection. A copy of the said licence may be obtained by fax pending arrival of the licence itself; that copy shall be kept on board;

(e) the authorities of the Seychelles shall communicate before the date of entry into force of the Agreement the arrangements for payment of the licence fees, and in particular the details of the bank accounts and the currencies to be used.

2. Validity of licences and payment

(a) Licences shall be valid for a period of one year. They are renewable.

(b) The fee shall be set at ECU 20 per tonne caught within Seychelles' waters. Licences shall be issued following advance payment to Seychelles of a lump sum, per year and for each vessel, of ECU 7 500 for tuna seiners and ECU 500 for surface longliners, equivalent to the fees for respectively 375 tonnes and 25 tonnes caught within the Seychelles' waters per year.

(c) Surface longliners shall, before the start of their fishing campaign in Seychelles' waters and at the end of it, call into Port Victoria to check the catches held on board. However, at the request of the shipowner, the Seychelles authorities may exempt the vessel of that requirement.

Fishing licences for surface longliners shall authorize the fishing of not only tuna but also swordfish, marlin and sailfish.

(d) The Seychelles Fishing Authority (SFA) will draw up a statement of fees due in respect of the previous calendar year on the basis of catch declarations by Community vessels and other information in the possession of the SFA.

The statement will be sent before 31 March of the current year to the Commission which will transmit it before 15 April simultaneously to shipowners and national authorities of the concerned Member States.

Where the shipowners do not agree with the statement submitted by the SFA, they may consult the scientific institutes competent for verifying catch statistics such as the Institut français de recherche scientifique pour le développement en coopération (Orstom) or the Spanish Oceanographical Institute (IEO), and thereafter discuss together with the Seychelles authorities to establish the final statement before 15 May of the current year. In the absence of observations by the shipowners at that date, the statement submitted by the SFA is considered as the final one. The Member States will notify the Commission of the final statement relating to their own fleet.

Shipowners shall make any additional payment above the advance to the Seychelles fisheries authorities before 31 May of the same year.

Where the final statement is less than the abovementioned advance, the balance shall not be recoverable by the shipowner.

3. Declaration of catches

(a) The Community vessels licensed to fish in Seychelles' waters shall complete a fishing form as set out in Appendices 2 and 3, for each fishing trip they undertake in Seychelles' waters. In the absence of catches, the fishing forms shall still be completed.

(b) For the periods for which a Community vessel referred to in point (a) was not present in Seychelles' waters, it shall provide the abovementioned fishing form with the notation 'Outside Seychelles' EEZ`.

(c) As far as the release of the fishing forms referred to in points (a) and (b) is concerned, the Community vessels shall:

- in the case where they call into Port Victoria, submit the completed forms to the Seychelles authorities within five days of arrival in port, or in any event before they leave port, whichever occurs first;

- in any other case, send the completed forms to the Seychelles authorities within 14 days of arrival in any port other than Victoria.

Copies of these fishing forms must also be sent to the scientific institutes referred to in point 2 (d).

(d) In the event of failure to comply with these provisions, the sanctions referred to in point 10 will apply.

4. Observers

Tuna seiner vessels shall, at the request of the Seychelles' authorities, take on board a qualified observer designated by the said authorities in order to check the position of the vessel and catches made in Seychelles' waters. Observers shall have all the facilities necessary for the performance of these duties, including access to places, documents and communication equipment. An observer must not be present for longer than the time required to fulfil his duties. Observers shall be granted officer status while on board. Should a tuna seiner with a Seychellois observer on board leave Seychelles' waters, every step will be taken to ensure that the observer returns to Seychelles as soon as possible, at the shipowners' expense.

5. Employment of seamen

Each tuna seiner shall take on board at least two Seychelles seamen designated by the Seychelles' authorities, in agreement with the shipowners, during its fishing campaign. The employment contracts of the seamen shall be drawn up in Victoria between the shipowners' representatives and the seamen in agreement with the Seychelles Ministry responsible for employment. This contract shall cover the social security arrangements applicable to the seamen including life, accident and sickness insurance.

6. Landing

Tuna seiners landing in the port of Victoria will endeavour to make their by-catches available to the Seychellois authorities at the local market prices. Furthermore the Community tuna seiners shall participate in supplying tuna to the Seychelles canneries at international market prices.

7. Communications

Within three hours of each entry and exit of the zone and every three days during their fishing activities in Seychelles' waters, Community vessels shall communicate directly to the Seychelles' authorities, preferably by fax or, in the event of failure, by radio their position and the volume of catches held on board.

The number of the fax and radio frequency shall be indicated on the licence.

A copy of the communications by fax or a record of the radio communications shall be kept by the Seychelles' authorities and the shipowners until the approval by both parties of the final statement of the fees referred to in point 2 (d).

In the event of failure to comply with these provisions, the sanctions referred to in point 10 will be applicable.

8. Fishing zone

To avoid any adverse effect on small-scale fisheries in Seychelles' waters, fishing by Community vessels shall not be authorized in the zones defined in the Seychelles regulations nor within three miles around any fish-aggregating device placed by the Seychelles authorities, the geographical positions of which have been communicated to the shipowners' representative or agent.

9. Port equipment and use of supplies and services

Community vessels shall endeavour to procure in Seychelles all supplies and services required for their operations. The Seychelles' authorities will lay down, in agreement with the shipowners, the conditions for using port equipment and, if necessary, supplies and services.

10. Sanctions

Failure to observe any one of the above rules or management and conservation of living resources measures, or the Seychelles legislation, may be penalized by suspension, revocation or non-renewal of the vessel's fishing licence. Suspension or revocation of a fishing licence shall be regarded as force majeure for the purpose of point 1 (b) of this Annex.

The European Commission will immediately be fully informed of any suspension or revocation and of all the relevant facts related thereto.

Appendix 1

APPLICATION FOR A FOREIGN FISHING VESSEL LICENCE

>START OF GRAPHIC>

Name of applicant: .

Address of applicant: .

.

Name and address of charterer of vessel if different from above: .

.

Name and address of other legal representative in Seychelles: .

.

Name and address of master of vessel: .

.

Name of vessel: .

Type of vessel: .

Length and registered net tonnage of vessel: .

Engine type, horsepower and gross registered tonnage: .

Port and country of registry: .

Registration number: .

Fishing vessel external identification: .

Radio call sign/signal letters: .

Frequency: .

Particulars of equipment: .

Number and nationality of crew: .

Proposed fishing area and species of fish: .

.

Description of fishing operations, joint ventures and other contractual arrangements:

.

.

.

.

I certify that the above particulars are correct.

Date: .

Signature: .

>END OF GRAPHIC>

Appendix 2

STATEMENT OF CATCH FOR TUNA SEINERS

>START OF GRAPHIC>

One line per haul whether yielding a catch or not. Enter crosses under INDICATORS and HAUL. Thank you.

DeparturePort Date Time Arrival Port Date Time Loch Departure: Arrival: Vessel Skipper Sheet No Date Position At time of haul Otherwise at midday Haul with catch without catch Tank No Estimated catch Yellowfin Skipjack Bigeye Albacore Other species Size Tonnage Size Tonnage Size Tonnage Size Tonnage Size Tonnage Indicators Wreckage Birds Whale(s) Whale-sharks Comments Route or search - Discards Type of shoal or wreckage Miscellaneous problems General weather conditions Log 6 a.m. or start of lookout 6 p.m. or end of lookout Surface T State of sea Visibility in miles Wind Direction Speed in knots Current Direction Speed in knots >END OF GRAPHIC>

Appendix 3

STATEMENT OF CATCH FOR SURFACE LONGLINERS

>START OF GRAPHIC>

Name of vessel:

.

Skipper's name: .

Date of setting: .......... /.......... /.......... Start of trip: .......... /..........

/.......... at: .......... /.......... /..........

Trip number: .

Setting number: .

Wind direction: .

Force: ............................... (Beaufort)

Sea conditions: .

Swell: ...............................

Surface temperature: ................ °C

Current: speed: ................ Direction: ................

Moon: New moon + ................ days

Moon rises: ................ (0-24 h)Moon sets: ................ (0-24 h)

Setting details

Start time: ...............................Finishing time: ...............................

Section

Position

Heading

Speed

Remarks

Depart: radio buoy No 1

Radio buoy No 2

Radio buoy No 3

Radio buoy No 4

Radio buoy No 5

Radio buoy No 6

Radio buoy No 7

Number of hooks: .

Length: buoy lines: . Branch lines: ...............................

Length of line: ...............................

Recorded depth of the line (sounder): ...............................

Bait: Shrimp: ................ %Mackerel: ................ %................ : ................%

Details of catch

Time (0-24 h)

Latitude

Longitude

Start of turn

End of turn

Species

Number

Estimated unit weight

Total weight

Number of fish eaten

Swordfish (*)

Yellowfin (**)

Bigeye (**)

Marlin (**)

Sailfish (*)

Seabream

Shark

Other (give details)

Total weight

Total weight of catch landed (weighed)

(*) VDK.(**) with head, gilled.

State the type of weight used (VAT, VDK, whole) if different from that specified.>END OF GRAPHIC>