Morocco and the European Union (EU) have agreed to maintain their cooperation as provided for in the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement, which “is still in force”, to strengthen their bilateral ties.
A joint communiqué, issued on July 13 in Brussels, following the 5th session of the Joint Commission in charge of monitoring the Agreement, underlined that “Morocco and the EU have agreed to continue their cooperation as provided for in the Partnership Agreement in the field of sustainable fisheries to boost partnership on essential areas, such as scientific campaigns, technical cooperation, the fight against illegal fishing, operators’ economic integration, safety at sea, and the improvement of working conditions and protection of seafarers.”
Held in accordance with the Morocco-EU Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement, this session was an opportunity to assess the four years of implementation of the Fisheries Protocol of July 18, 2019, which expires on July 17, per Article 16 of the Protocol.
On this occasion, Morocco and the European Union (EU) praised their exemplary cooperation, which has enabled small-scale and industrial vessels to operate under all circumstances, the Protocol to govern transparently and rigorously, and the fisheries resource to be monitored constantly following the latest scientific findings.
The two parties also commended the successful implementation of the Fisheries Agreement and its Protocol at all levels, including the successful development of Morocco’s fisheries sector, underlining the positive socio-economic impact on the sector, small-scale fishing, and sustainable aquaculture in favor of young entrepreneurs and fishermen’s cooperatives, as well as job creation, training, and the integration of women and youth into the job market.
These projects, as underlined in the communiqué, may carry on beyond the expiry of the Protocol, as provided for therein.
