The Portuguese Fishermen's Association has slammed the European Union Court ruling, canceling the fisheries agreement with Morocco.
"The cancellation of the fisheries agreement between the European Union and the Kingdom of Morocco, taken last Wednesday, will further disrupt the European fishing fleet," Portuguese fishermen said in a statement.
"If the cancellation, currently suspended for two months, comes into effect, Portugal will lose access to 2,060 tons of pelagic species, 14 longline licenses in the artisanal fishery and 4 in the demersal category," the association stressed.
The Portuguese fishermen explained that "with the creation of the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), the European fishing fleets, including the Portuguese, lost the right to work within 200 nautical miles of the coasts of non-members countries. This means that they lose access to the fishing grounds that they used before".
The statement noted that "the only mechanisms available to European fleets to continue operating in EEZ's non-members' countries are the fisheries agreements, now called Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements (SFPAs), which the EU is slow to negotiate, setting terms to its competitors, and often lets them expire without renewal."
Unfortunately, the decision of the European Union Court further weakens the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements as an alternative for European fishermen, the source added.
"In addition to the loss of fishing opportunities, which are currently used for exchanges to strengthen national quotas in other fishing areas, the end of the agreement with Morocco would force the relocation of several Spanish vessels to the waters of the Iberian Peninsula, a factor of increasing pressure on the resources of the region, which would have consequences on the Portuguese fishery," the Association of Portuguese Fishermen said.
