Protocol

defining, for the period 3 December 1999 to 2 December 2002, the fishing opportunities and the financial contribution provided for by the Agreement between the European Community and the Government of Mauritius on fishing in the waters of Mauritius

Article 1

Pursuant to Article 2 of the Agreement, and for a period of three years from 3 December 1999, the following fishing possibilities shall be accorded:

>TABLE>

Article 2

1. The financial compensation referred to in Article 6 of the Agreement for the abovementioned period is fixed at EUR 206250 per year.

2. This compensation shall cover a catch weight in waters of Mauritius of 5500 tonnes of catches per year. If the annual amount of catches by Community vessels in the waters of Mauritius exceeds this quantity, the abovementioned compensation shall be increased by EUR 50 for each additional tonne caught.

3. The use to which this compensation is put shall be the sole competence of Mauritius.

4. The financial compensation shall be paid into an account indicated by the Government of Mauritius, in the name of the public Treasury.

Article 3

During the period covered by the Protocol, the Community shall contribute an additional EUR 618750 to financing the measures described below, allocated as follows:

1. EUR 543750 for scientific and technical programmes to promote better understanding and management of fisheries and living resources in Mauritius fishing zone, and the implementation of an appropriate monitoring and control surveillance scheme, including an electronic fisheries management information system based on the vessel monitoring system;

2. EUR 75000 for study grants and practical training courses in the various scientific, technical and economic fields linked to fishing. Of this amount, up to EUR 25000 may be used, at the request of the Mauritian authority responsible for fisheries, to cover the costs of attending international meetings relating to fisheries.

The Mauritian Ministry responsible for fisheries shall transmit an annual report on the implementation of these measures and the results achieved to the Delegation of the European Commission in Mauritius, three months after the anniversary date of the Protocol. The Commission reserves the right to request additional information on these results from the Mauritian authority responsible for fisheries and to review the payments concerned in the light of the actual implementation of the measures.

All the amounts indicated shall be paid into an account indicated by the Government of Mauritius, in the name of the public Treasury.

Article 4

Should the Community fail to make any of the payments specified in Articles 2 and 3, the Agreement on fishing may be suspended.

Article 5

The Annex to the Agreement between the European Community and the Government of Mauritius on fishing in the waters of Mauritius is hereby repealed and replaced by the Annex to this Protocol.

Article 6

This Protocol with its Annex shall enter into force on the date of its signature.

It shall apply from 3 December 1999.

Done at ...

For the Government of Mauritius

For the Council of the European Union

ANNEX

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

1. LICENCE APPLICATION AND ISSUING FORMALITIES

The application procedure for, and issue of, the licences enabling Community vessels to fish in the waters of Mauritius shall be as follows:

(a) the Commission of the European Communities shall present to the Mauritian authority via the representative of the Commission of the European Communities in Mauritius 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 forms provided for that purpose by Mauritius, a specimen of which is attached as Appendix 1;

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

(c) the licences shall be delivered by the authorities of Mauritius to the representative of the Commission of the European Communities in Mauritius;

(d) the licence document must be held on board at all times. However, on receipt of the notification of the advance payment sent by the Commission of the European Communities to the Mauritian authority, the vessel will be included on a list, to be notified to the Mauritian fisheries control authorities. While awaiting receipt of the licence document, a fax copy of this licence document may be obtained and shall be kept on board, which will authorise the vessel to fish, pending delivery on board of the licence document;

(e) the Mauritian authority shall communicate before the date of entry into force of the Protocol the arrangements for payments of the licence fees, and in particular the details of the bank account and the currency to be used.

2. VALIDITY OF LICENCES AND PAYMENT OF FEES

1. Advance payments

For tuna seiners and surface longliners, licences shall be valid for a period of one year. They are renewable.

The fee shall be set at EUR 25 per tonne caught in the waters of Mauritius.

For tuna seiners, licences shall be issued on advance payment of an annual sum of EUR 1750 per tuna seiner, equivalent to the fees for 70 tonnes of annual catches within the waters of Mauritius.

For surface longliners, licences shall be issued on advance payment to Mauritius of an annual sum of EUR 1375 for a surface longliner of more than 150 grt and EUR 1000 for surface longliners of 150 grt or less. These amounts correspond respectively to the fees due for 55 tonnes and for 40 tonnes of annual catches in Mauritian waters.

For vessels fishing by line, licences shall be valid for three, six or 12 months. The fee shall be fixed in relation to the grt as follows: EUR 80 per year per grt pro rata temporis.

2. Final statement

For tuna seiners and surface longliners, a final statement of the fees due for the fishing year shall be drawn up by the Commission of the European Communities at the end of each calendar year on the basis of the catch statements made by the shipowners and confirmed by the scientific institutes competent for verifying catch statistics such as Orstom (Office of Overseas Scientific and Technical Research), IEO (Spanish Oceanographic Institute), Ipimar (Instituto Nacional das Pescas e do Mar) and any international fishing organisations in the Indian Ocean, as may be designated by the Mauritian authority. The statement shall simultaneously be notified to the Mauritian authority and the shipowners. The shipowners shall meet their financial obligations within 30 days of the receipt of the statement. If the amount of the sum due for actual fishing operations is less than the advance payment, the corresponding outstanding sum shall not be recoverable by the shipowner.

3. DECLARATIONS OF CATCHES

Vessels authorised to fish in the waters of Mauritius under the Agreement shall notify their catch statistics to the Mauritian authority, with a copy for the delegation of the European Communities in Mauritius, in accordance with the following procedure.

Tuna seiners shall complete a fishing form corresponding to the specimen in Appendix 2. Surface longliners shall complete a fishing form corresponding to the specimen in Appendix 3. Vessels fishing by line shall complete a fishing form corresponding to the specimen in Appendix 4.

Forms must be completed legibly and be signed by the master of the vessel. In addition, they must be completed by all vessels which have obtained a licence, even if they have not fished.

The forms shall be forwarded to the Mauritian authority not later than 45 days after each fishing campaign.

4. OBSERVERS

All vessels above 50 grt shall, at the request of the authorities of Mauritius, take on board an observer designated by these authorities in order to check catches made in the waters of Mauritius. Observers shall have all facilities necessary for the performance of this duty including access to places and documents. An observer must not be present for longer than the time required to fulfil his duties. They shall be provided with suitable food and accomodation while on board. Should a vessel with a Mauritian observer on board leave the waters of Mauritius, every step will be taken to ensure that the observer returns to Mauritius as soon as possible, at the shipowner's expense.

5. RADIO COMMUNICATION

Vessels above 50 grt shall communicate, when entering and leaving Mauritian waters, and, every three days, while fishing in Mauritian waters, to a radio station (the name, call sign and frequency of which shall be specified in the licence) or by fax (No 23 02 08 19 29) or by e-mail (fish@intnet.mu), their position and the volume of catches on board.

6. FISHING ZONES

Tuna seiners and surface longliners may fish in the waters of Mauritius except within a distance of 12 nautical miles measured from the baseline.

Vessels fishing by line are only authorised to fish in their traditional grounds, namely Soudan Bank and East Soudan Bank.

7. SUPPLY TO THE TUNA CANNING INDUSTRY

Community tuna vessels shall endeavour to sell part of their catch to the Mauritian tuna canning industry at a price to be fixed in common agreement between Community shipowners and the owners of the Mauritian tuna canning industry.

8. BOARDING

1. Transmission of information

The Mauritian authority responsible for fisheries shall inform the Delegation and the flag State, within 48 hours, of the boarding of any fishing vessel flying the flag of a Member State of the Community fishing under the Fisheries Agreemnent in Mauritius' fishing zone and shall transmit a brief report of the circumstances and reasons leading to such boarding. The Delegation and the flag State shall be kept informed of any proceedings initiated and penalties imposed.

2. Settlement of boarding

In accordance with the law on fisheries and the relevant regulations, infringements may be settled:

(a) either by composition, in which case the amount of the fine shall be determined in accordance with the Mauritian legislation laying down minimum and maximum figures;

(b) or by legal proceedings, if no composition is possible, in accordance with Mauritian law.

3. The vessel shall be released and its crew authorised to leave the port:

(a) either as soon as the obligations imposed by the composition procedure have been completed on presentation of the receipt for the settlement, or

(b) on presentation of proof that a bank security has been ledged, pending completion of the legal proceedings.

Appendix 1

APPLICATION FOR A FOREIGN FISHING VESSEL LICENCE

>PIC FILE= "L_2000180EN.003402.EPS">

Appendix 2

TUNA VESSELS FISHING LOGBOOK

>PIC FILE= "L_2000180EN.003502.EPS">

Appendix 3

STATEMENT OF CATCH FOR SURFACE LONGLINERS

>PIC FILE= "L_2000180EN.003602.EPS">

>PIC FILE= "L_2000180EN.003701.EPS">

Appendix 4

FISHERY BY LINE

>PIC FILE= "L_2000180EN.003802.EPS">