On Wednesday, Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) approved the updated fisheries agreement with Guinea Bissau, allowing access for 41 EU vessels to the country’s waters for five years. This agreement represents the European Union’s second most significant fisheries partnership with a non-EU country, second only to the agreement with Mauritania.
Fishing activities contribute approximately 15% to Guinea-Bissau’s government revenue; however, the country cannot export seafood to the EU due to non-compliance with EU health and sanitary requirements. It is estimated that only 3% of the catches made by foreign vessels operating in Guinea-Bissau’s fishing zone are landed in the country.
“The Commission should improve monitoring and ensure that sectoral cooperation is geared more towards local food security needs, social conditions on board vessels, and recognition of the participation of women in coastal communities,” rapporteur Eric Sargiacomo (S&D, FR) said.
The newly established protocol permits 28 freezer tuna seiners, surface longliners, and 13 pole-and-line tuna vessels from Spain, France, Italy, Greece, and Portugal to operate within Guinea-Bissau’s waters. European fishers can capture up to 3,500 gross registered tonnage (GRT) of cephalopods and 3,700 GRT of shrimp annually until 2029. Notably, capturing small pelagic species is prohibited due to concerns regarding stock levels and low demand.
In exchange for access to the fishing zones, the EU will provide funding amounting to €85 million over the five years, equating to €17 million per year, with €4.5 million designated annually to promote sustainable fisheries management and to support local fishing communities. This funding reflects an increase of €1.4 million per year compared to the prior agreement.
Furthermore, shipowners will be required to pay licensing and capture fees to the administration of Guinea-Bissau. Consequently, the total EU contribution to Guinea-Bissau will exceed €100 million during the designated five-year timeframe.
The new protocol has been provisionally applied since September 18, 2024, and was approved in plenary by a vote of 518 in favour, 104 against, and 61 abstentions.
MEPs also endorsed recommendations for the European Commission and the authorities of Guinea-Bissau to consider during future negotiations and in applying the current protocol, which garnered 605 votes in favour, 68 against, and 10 abstentions.
The European Parliament aims to ensure that this agreement genuinely facilitates the development of local fisheries. Improvements to Guinea-Bissau’s infrastructure are essential to secure market access for local fish products. Furthermore, enhanced cooperation is necessary to enable Guinea-Bissau to export its fishery products effectively.
MEPs have expressed concern that Guinea-Bissau is increasingly emerging as a flag-of-convenience country. They have noted that a lack of transparency regarding vessel ownership hinders efforts to combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing. As a result, the Parliament has called upon the EU to mobilise technical and financial assistance to bolster the monitoring and control of fishing activities, prevent IUU fishing, and combat the practice of reflagging.
