27.12.2022
EN
Official Journal of the European Union
C 493/157 Wednesday 8 June 2022
26.
Welcomes the new rules on vessel owners’ fees and hopes that this and other improvements to the protocol, including the possibility for EU vessels to land their catch in non-Mauritanian ports in exceptional circumstances, will lead to a better use of available fishing opportunities in the future; 27.
Welcomes and recognises that Union ship owners of pelagic freezer trawlers and shrimp vessels fishing under the protocol, as a fee in kind, should continue to contribute to the policy of distributing fish to people in need by reserving 2 % of their pelagic catches trans-shipped or landed at the end of a trip for the Société nationale de distribution de poisson (National Fish Distribution Company); notes that local fish consumption is increasing in Mauritania; calls on the Commission and the Mauritanian authorities to ensure that this contribution actually reaches the population and does not end up in fishmeal factories; 28.
Underlines the commitment to implement the principles and rights of the ILO for all fishers on EU vessels in order to eliminate discrimination in employment and occupation; considers that this implementation should be monitored; 29.
Welcomes the employment of qualified Mauritanian seafarers on EU vessels on contracts that comply with ILO standards and include social cover; calls for greater efforts to employ trainees in order to increase the number of qualified persons in the sectoral programme; 30.
Calls on the Commission to include SFPAs as a key element in the EU’s partnership with Africa;
31.
Welcomes projects funded by EU development aid in Mauritania such as ‘Promopeche’, which aims to create jobs and train young people in the field of artisanal fisheries; calls on the Commission to improve alignment and consistency between the SFPA and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs); 32.
Stresses that fishing, including small-scale fisheries, is an important sector for Mauritania’s economy and is essential to the country’s economic development, food security, nutrition and employment opportunities, in particular for women and young people, and for ensuring inclusive and sustainable economic development for all; supports, therefore, measures to significantly increase the resilience of local actors, including small family-owned businesses and coastal communities, to the consequences of climate change and coastal erosion; insists that investments in fisheries must be clearly aligned with the SDGs and not jeopardise the needs of coastal communities; insists that the financial contribution provided for under the new agreement should be distributed in a way that takes account of the fundamental role of coastal communities; 33.
Calls for the fostering of local and regional economic development and the strengthening of coastal communities that are dependent on marine resources and which must therefore be fully integrated into the management of marine and coastal areas; recalls that the restoration of marine and coastal biodiversity sustains coastal communities and contributes to climate change mitigation and adaptation; underlines the need for regular consultation with coastal communities throughout the implementation process; 34.
Acknowledges that EU markets and producers depend on imports of fish from Mauritania, among other countries, to guarantee the availability of food to EU consumers; 35.
Demands that further EU efforts under this SFPA must focus on putting an end to harmful and unsustainable fish subsidies within the World Trade Organization and other international bodies, paying particular attention to illegal fishing; 36.
Requests that the EU legal acquis, including rulings by the Court of Justice of the EU, be respected and duly applied in fisheries in Mauritania and its surrounding area; 37.
Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and parliaments of the Member States and the Government and Parliament of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania.