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European fishing interests are mobilising to keep access to Mauritania’s waters before the European Union’s fishing protocol with the country expires at midnight on Saturday 14 November.
On Thursday, Andalusia’s fisheries minister, Ramón Fernández-Pacheco, met fishing companies and port authorities at the regional parliament in Seville. The regional government said an official European Commission communication states that EU vessels will no longer be authorised to fish in Mauritanian waters after the expiry. About 60 European vessels are affected, 25 of them based in Andalusia, and around 500 direct and indirect jobs could be at risk, it said. The shipowners’ association Anamar estimated losses of €50m if access is interrupted. The minister argued that a European exit could increase pressure from other countries’ fleets. (Europa Press)
These are the Spanish regional government’s and industry’s statements. The Commission communication itself was not located.
The protocol, in force since November 2021, is worth €60.8m a year, according to the European Commission. (European Commission) Faro de Vigo, a Galician newspaper, reported on 10 November that €57.5m of that was for access and €3.3m for sectoral-policy support. It also reported, citing sector sources, that Nouakchott was asking Brussels for more money, that a last-minute meeting between Fisheries Commissioner Costas Kadis and Mauritanian officials had not produced good news, and that the European fleet refused to pay more for an agreement that had not always guaranteed catches, citing the collapse of black pomfret. According to the paper’s reading of Mauritania’s draft 2027 budget, the bill omits European compensation and sectoral support. (Faro de Vigo) Madar, a Mauritanian outlet, reported that parliament’s finance committee examined the 2027 budget bill on Thursday. (Madar)
Mauritania’s side is documented mainly in writing. In October, CAPE, a coalition of fishing-rights groups that campaigns on the issue, reported that Mauritania’s ministry wanted access reorganised because of the risks facing some overfished small pelagic species — small fish that live near the surface. It said fishers it contacted reported limited local benefits. That is the coalition’s account, not an official record. (CAPE, 8 October 2026) The budget text, as quoted by Faro de Vigo, calls the protocol’s expiry the main source of uncertainty for 2027 fishing revenue and lists renegotiation and sustainable management of small pelagic stocks among its priorities.
The protocol is only part of the arrangement: the Commission says the underlying fisheries agreement runs for six years and renews automatically. The stakes reported so far are payments of about €60.8m a year, work for European fleets and ports, and a fishery whose key stocks Mauritania’s ministry is reported to consider under pressure.