2021/0300M(NLE) | [ParlTrack]

Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA, Søren GADE, Catherine CHABAUD

Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 a (new)

— having regard to the European Parliament resolution of 20 October 2021 on a farm to fork strategy for a fair, healthy and environmentally-friendly food system (2020/2260(INI)),

Amendment 10 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital B a (new)

B a. whereas several Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements have been signed by the European Union and African countries;

Amendment 11 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

D a. whereas the overfishing of small pelagic stocks, especially Sardinella, and their processing into fishmeal and fish oil, causes enormous damage not only to the waters but also to the food security of local populations throughout the West African region;

Amendment 12 #

Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA, Søren GADE, Catherine CHABAUD

Motion for a resolution
Recital D a (new)

D a. whereas robust scientific data, efficient monitoring and control systems as well as transparency on catches and fishing licences are necessary for coastal states to determine the available surplus of shared stocks of small pelagics that are currently harvested above scientific limits;

Amendment 13 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital I a (new)

I a. whereas the new Protocol modifies and enlarges the fishing zone for small pelagics; whereas Article 9 of the Protocol requires Mauritania to draw up, within six months of the implementation of the Protocol, a sustainable management plan for small pelagic fisheries, applicable to all fleets fishing in Mauritanian waters as a condition for the establishment of the new fishing zone; whereas 7 500 000 EUR of the Union's financial contribution is conditional on the approval of this management plan by the Joint Committee;

Amendment 14 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital K

K. whereas the Commission’s assessment of the previous protocol called for the establishment of a regional management framework for the exploitation of shared stocks of small pelagics and shared stocks of black hake as is required following Article 63 of the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea;

Amendment 15 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital K a (new)

K a. whereas Mauritania committed in 2017 to reduce and to gradually phase out fishmeal and fish oil production by 2020; whereas, since 2010, the production tripled;

Amendment 16 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital K b (new)

K b. whereas shared stocks of small pelagics - on which artisanal fishers rely on for their livelihoods and food security - are overexploited; whereas the demand for those fish is growing with the expansion of foreign-owned fishmeal factories in Mauritania and neighbouring countries, which are putting at risk food security and raising concerns about environmental pollution such as from untreated waste at the local level;

Amendment 17 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital K c (new)

K c. whereas regarding the management of small pelagics, the 2021 Report of the Extraordinary Meeting of the Joint Scientific Committee supported additional measures to reduce fishing effort in the 15 nautical miles fishing zone in Mauritania, such as prohibiting the use of the two sardinella species for producing fish meal, reducing the size of fishing gear of coastal vessels and the introduction of quotas to limit catches of the various fleets operating in the fishing zone;

Amendment 18 #

Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA, Søren GADE, Catherine CHABAUD

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1

1. Welcomes the conclusion of a new Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement and Protocol between the Union and Mauritania, which is designed to improve and modernise the existing agreement; considers it positive that no additional one-year extensions to the previous protocol will henceforth be required or that they be resolved if they are not strictly necessary, without harming the European fleet;

Amendment 19 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Points out that this agreement strengthens environmental, economic, social, administrative and scientific cooperation in order to enhance sustainable fisheries, contribute to improved ocean governance, combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, monitor and control fishing activities and contribute to transparent implementation of the agreement and job creation in compliance with ILO Convention 188;

Amendment 2 #

Annie SCHREIJER-PIERIK, Peter van DALEN

Motion for a resolution
Citation 5 b (new)

— Having regard to the Opinion of the Committee on Development for the Committee on Fisheries 'Toward a sustainable blue economy in the EU: the role of the fisheries and aquaculture sectors' (2021/2188(INI));

Amendment 20 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 a (new)

1 a. Calls on the Commission and the Mauritanian authorities to continue to promote regional and coherent fisheries management, both in terms of identifying stocks and fishing opportunities, in conjunction with neighbouring countries in the West African region;

Amendment 21 #

Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA, Søren GADE, Catherine CHABAUD

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1 b. Welcomes the upgrade of the partnership agreement to a full SFPA; stresses the importance of ensuring that the principles of sustainable management as enshrined in the CFP are reflected in the Union's fisheries agreements, including in their implementation;

Amendment 22 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 b (new)

1 b. Notes that fish should primarily be for human consumption and not a raw material for the food processing industry, and that it is important that local authorities be involved and cooperate in this;

Amendment 23 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 1 c (new)

1 c. Calls on the Commission to use all the instruments and resources available in the protocol to encourage the Mauritanian authorities to phase out the production of fishmeal and fish oil;

Amendment 24 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 2

2. Recognises the importance of the new agreement and protocol in terms of the considerable fishing opportunities ~~they maintain~~ for the EU fleet and as a platform for continued structured cooperation between the Union and Mauritania, especially in the field of sustainable fisheries management and maintaining the European fleet;

Amendment 25 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 a (new)

3 a. Underlines that the Partnership must offer guaranties and protect Mauritanian small-scale fishers from unfair competition, including from EU fishers, and must not undermine local communities;

Amendment 26 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 b (new)

3 b. Welcomes the fact that in the new protocol, the reference tonnage for octopus was maintained at zero, in order to reserve octopus for national artisanal fishers which is key for their local development; is worried however that upcoming scientific programmes and/or assessments could open the possibility to revise catch limits of cephalopods; underlines that this fishery should be reserved for artisanal fishers considering its high value added for the artisanal fisheries sector;

Amendment 27 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 c (new)

3 c. Recalls that the EU can contribute to ending overfishing of small pelagics and to ending the situation caused by the negative impacts of fishmeal and fish oil industry in Mauritania on which the EU aquaculture and agriculture industries rely;

Amendment 28 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 d (new)

3 d. Welcomes the requirement in the new protocol for Mauritania to publish a plan for the sustainable management of small pelagics that will apply to all vessels fishing in Mauritanian waters; urges Mauritania to draw on the conclusions of the 2021 Report of the Extraordinary Meeting of the Joint Scientific Committee when drafting such a plan;

Amendment 29 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 e (new)

3 e. Expresses concerns however about the potential impacts of expanding the fishing zone for EU trawlers targeting small pelagics by reducing the exclusion zone from 20 to 15 nautical miles; calls on the Commission and Mauritania to follow a strict precautionary approach in regards to modifying the zoning;

Amendment 3 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 7 a (new)

— having regard to the FAO Voluntary Guidelines for Securing Sustainable Small-Scale Fisheries,

Amendment 30 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 f (new)

3 f. Calls on the EU to step up its efforts by supporting the implementation of a regional management framework for the exploitation of shared stocks of small pelagics, the setup of a regional fisheries management organisation for those stocks and by initiating an international dialogue with concerned countries;

Amendment 31 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 3 g (new)

3 g. Welcomes the publication by Mauritania of the first report to the Fisheries Transparency Initiative (FiTI), notes that the report is based on information for calendar year 2018, calls on Mauritania to publish more recent data;

Amendment 32 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Demands that Mauritania inform the Commission on all public or private agreements with foreign vessels in its fishing zone and that this information be included in the annual report to be sent by the Commission to the European Parliament; expresses concerns that, so far, some Fisheries Agreements with third countries were not published by Mauritania;

Amendment 33 #

Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA, Søren GADE, Catherine CHABAUD

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5

5. Demands that the European Commission request from Mauritania inform ~~the Commiss~~ation on all public or private agreements with ~~foreign vessels~~vessels from third countries operating in its fishing zone and that this information be included in the annual report to be sent by the Commission to the European Parliament;

Amendment 34 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Welcomes the commitment of the parties to implement the agreement transparently and in accordance with the Cotonou Agreement with regard to human rights, democratic principles, the rule of law and good governance;

Amendment 35 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5 a (new)

5 a. Welcomes the requirements in the new Protocol to increase and improve coverage by scientific observers in order to improve data collection;

Amendment 36 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Notes the exchange of information required by the Protocol with regard to reports on the activities of foreign fleets and foreign-owned domestic fleets operating in Mauritanian waters; calls on Mauritania to provide full information on all vessels fishing in its waters in a user- friendly format that allows observers to form an overall picture of the total fishing effort, catches per species and status of stocks and calls on Mauritania to make them publicly available; notes that this is a condition for calculating the ‘surplus’ in the spirit of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea;

Amendment 37 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

6. Notes the reports on the activities of foreign fleets and foreign-owned domestic fleets operating in Mauritanian waters; calls on the European Commission to request Mauritania to provide full information on all vessels fishing in its waters in a clear and user-friendly format that allows observers to form an overall picture of the total fishing effort, catches per species and status of stocks; notes that this is a condition for calculating the ‘surplus’ in the spirit of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea;

Amendment 38 #

Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA, Søren GADE, Catherine CHABAUD

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6

Amendment 39 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Considers that the Union, given its network of FPAs and SFPAs in force in North-West Africa, has a role to play in encouraging Mauritania and its neighbouring countries to intensify cooperation in the management of shared stocks, notably those small pelagic stocks important for local food security; specifically points out the importance for the Union to actively engage with our partners in the area in order to ensure sustainable managements decisions in the relevant RFMOs;

Amendment 4 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 9

— having regard to the common fisheries policy, and especially to its external dimension,

Amendment 40 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Stresses the importance of creating a level playing field where the same rules apply to all fleets, wheter EU or non-EU;

Amendment 41 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)

6 a. Expresses concerns regarding the practice of reflagging in Mauritanian waters in particular and in the region in general;

Amendment 42 #

Annie SCHREIJER-PIERIK, Peter van DALEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 7 a (new)

7 a. Notes that the Ex-post evaluation of the previous protocol concludes that overall, Mauritania and the EU captured a similar share of value added of around 40-45% each; but that it states, however, that the value added induced for Mauritania by the activities of EU vessels is relatively low in the absence of economic interactions on land; in this regards calls on the EU to explore ways to improve this aspect under the new protocol;

Amendment 43 #

7 a. Reaffirms the need to improve and speed up the implementation of sectoral support, to increase transparency especially in the area of fishing licences, and also to improve the sustainability of fisheries;

Amendment 44 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8 a (new)

8 a. Welcomes sectoral support under axes 6 and 7; calls on the Joint Committee to promote infrastructure projects that will lead to increased local consumption of fish products and to finance projects benefiting directly to the whole value chain in Mauritanian small- scale fisheries;

Amendment 45 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

~~10.~~ Stresses that one of the general ~~10.~~ problems with sectoral support in the Union’s partnership agreements on sustainable fisheries is the lack of visibility, accessibility and transparency; calls, therefore, for the visibility and publicity of the activities associated with the implementation of the protocol to be improved, enabling its benefits to be fully visible and accessible to artisanal fishers, civil society organisations, citizens of partner countries and EU citizens; to this ends calls on the Commission and on Mauritania to proactively publish annual reports on the ways sectoral support is utilised;

Amendment 46 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10

10. Stresses that one of the general problems with sectoral support in the Union’s partnership agreements on sustainable fisheries is the lack of visibility of the measures and projects carried out under these sectoral aids; calls, therefore, for the visibility and publicity of the activities associated with the implementation of the protocol to be improved; as well as the presentation to Parliament of those actions or measures of greater relevance or impact on the parts of Mauritanian territory or society that are eligible for this sectoral aid, enabling its benefits to be fully visible;

Amendment 47 #

11. Points out that there is a need for better data collection on stocks in Mauritanian waters and that the agreement must be based on the best available scientific advice; believes that sectoral support should be used to improve scientific data on fish stocks, especially on shared stocks of small pelagics such as sardinella species and horse mackerel, on control and surveillance activities and to help artisanal fisheries;

Amendment 48 #

Annie SCHREIJER-PIERIK, Peter van DALEN

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11

11. Points out that there is a need for better data collection on stocks in Mauritanian waters; believes that sectoral support should be used as a priority to improve scientific data on fish stocks, control and surveillance activities ~~and to help~~of all fleets fishing in their fishing grounds and to support artisanal fisheries;

Amendment 49 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11 a (new)

11 a. Stresses the importance of scientific inventory, proper data collection and better monitoring with the assistance of on-board observers for European Union vessels, but also and especially for third-country fishing vessels;

Amendment 5 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 10 a (new)

— having regard to the EU’s commitment to Policy coherence for development enshrined in Article 208 TFEU,

Amendment 50 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12

12. Encourages the Commission to facilitate participation and exchange between experts and scientists within the framework of this agreement and during its implementation, if necessary for the assessment of the different species and the operation of the agreement;

Amendment 51 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 13

13. Welcomes the fact that the new protocol allows an adjustment of the EU’s financial contribution and of fishing opportunities in its third year of application; ~~urges~~calls on the Commission to make use of this flexibility if necessary;

Amendment 52 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)

14 a. Welcomes the increase of fees paid by ship owners compared to the last protocol; calls on the Commission to further increase the share of the total cost of SFPAs that is paid by ship owners by increasing the fee per tonne of fish caught, with the aim of reducing the share of access rights that is paid for from the EU budget;

Amendment 53 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 b (new)

14 b. Welcomes the requirement for Union shipowners of pelagic freezer trawlers and shrimp vessels fishing under the Protocol to contribute to the policy of distributing fish to needy populations, by reserving 2% of their pelagic catches transhipped or landed at the end of a trip for the "Société nationale de distribution de poisson"; notes that local fish consumption is increasing in Mauritania;

Amendment 54 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16 a. Calls on the European Commission in regards to article 21 of the Agreement and article 14 of the new implementing Protocol, to pay specific attention to human rights in Mauritania including in the fisheries sector; warns that, while being officially illegal in Mauritania, the practice of slavery persists in the country and was condemned on several occasions in previous years by the European Parliament;

Amendment 55 #

Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA, Søren GADE, Catherine CHABAUD

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)

16 a. Welcomes and recognises the continuation of the voluntary contribution by EU vessels of 2% of catches for the needs of the population as an important contribution to food security in the region, calls on the Commission and the Mauritanian authorities to ensure that this voluntary contribution actually reaches the population and does not end up in fishmeal factories;

Amendment 56 #

16 a. Calls on the European Commission to include Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements as a key element in EU´s partnership with Africa;

Amendment 57 #

Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 b (new)

16 b. Welcomes projects funded by EU development aid in Mauritania such as “Promopeche” which aims at creating jobs and training young people in the field of artisanal fisheries; calls on the Commission to improve synergies and coherence between the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals;

Amendment 6 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 11

— having regard to the Commission’s Ex-ante and Ex-post assessments of the previous agreement and protocol,

Amendment 7 #

Motion for a resolution
Citation 11 a (new)

— having regard to the Report of the Extraordinary Meeting of the Joint Scientific Committee (JSC) on the Fisheries Agreement signed between the Islamic Republic of Mauritania and the European Union on 10-12 February 2021,

Amendment 8 #

Motion for a resolution
Recital -A (new)

-A. whereas Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreements must be in line with the best scientific advice available and must neither threaten the small-scale fisheries sector in non-EU countries nor undermine local food security;

Amendment 9 #