The Mozambican government and the European Union have held talks here to launch negotiations on the latest protocol to their Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement and will conminue their negotiations in Brussels in September.
The current agreement, which runs out on Jan 31, 2015, allows 43 purse seiners and 32 surface longliners flying the flag of an EU member state to catch a total of 8,000 tonnes of tuna per year in Mozambican waters while the EU pays the Mozambican government 980,000 euros annually, out of which 460,000 euros are earmarked for the support of the fisheries policy to promote sustainability.
According to the EU, the negotiations in Maputo, held from July 11 to 13, were conducted in an open and frank atmosphere, “with progress made on identifying the areas where there was agreement and those where further work is required”.
However, it is clear that the next protocol will be different to previous editions as Mozambique has embarked upon rapidly building up its own tuna fishing industry.
On Monday, five boats which will form part of Mozambique’s own tuna fishing fleet began their journey to Maputo from the French port of Cherbourg and are expecated to arrive here in mid-August. This will be the first delivery out of an order for 24 fishing boats and six navy patrol boats placed by the company EMATUM with the CMN shipyard in Cherbourg.
Although EMATUM is a private company, its shareholders are state bodies. The major shareholder is the Institute for the Management of State Holdings (IGEPE), with 34 per cent. The other shareholders are the state fishing company Emopesca and GIPS (Management of Investments, Holdings and Services), with 33 per cent each. GIPS was set up in December 2011, and its main shareholder is the social services of the State Intelligence and Security Service (SISE).
Currently, all but one of the boats fishing for tuna in Mozambique’s waters are foreign vessels. The government has argued that the creation of a national tuna fishing fleet will bring in revenue of about US$90 million a year and create 1,500 jobs.
2014 BERNAMA