The European Union evaluates any potential fisheries agreement with a non-EU country before it’s concluded. Likewise, when an agreement has expired, past practice is assessed. But the European Commission refuses to disclose such evaluation reports for public scrutiny, stating that the documents are confidential so as to protect commercial interests and the international relations of the EU.
In March 2011, environmental organisations requested access to all the reports held by the European Commission which provide evaluations of the fisheries agreements with non-EU countries.
Following the Commission’s refusal thereof, 24 organisations, including Western Sahara Resource Watch, sent a letter to the Secretary General of the European Commission, Mrs Catherine Day, on 2 June. They request access to “all the reports held by the European Commission which provide ex-ante and ex-post evaluations of fisheries access agreements and fisheries partnership agreements”. Read a copy of the letter here.
Only recently, a confidential evaluation of the contentious EU-Moroccan Fisheries Partnership Agreement caused a stir in the European press. The report labels the agreement as the worst of all ongoing bilateral agreements in terms of cost-efficiency. Furthermore, the EU vessels contribute to damaging the region's fish stocks, already exploited and in part overexploited by local fishermen.
The evaluation highlighted that stocks in both Moroccan and Saharawi waters are either fully or over-exploited. The Morocco FPA is the least cost-effective of all the EU's existing fishing deals with third countries.
Nevertheless, and in spite of ongoing UN-hosted peace-talks between Morocco and the Frente Polisario, which also include talks over the management of the resources of the territory, the European Commission now seeks to renew the fish pact.
The EU considers to pay Morocco to fish in occupied Western Sahara. An EU-Morocco Fisheries Agreement from 2013 would be both politically controversial and in violation of international law.
The international Fish Elsewhere! campaign demands the EU to avoid such unethical operations, and go fishing somewhere else. No fishing in Western Sahara should take place until the conflict is solved.
