Source: Xinhua
Editor: yan
The European Parliament adopted on Tuesday by an overwhelming majority the new fisheries deal between Morocco and the European Union (EU), Morocco’s official MAP news agency reported.
The deal received 415 votes in favor out of 653 members present in the plenary session, the report said.
This vote results from a process of technical negotiations, legal validations and political consultations between Morocco and the EU, the report pointed out.
The new agreement comes after the previous four-year deal expired on July 14 last year, forcing some 120 European vessels to leave the Moroccan waters.
The two parties negotiated the agreement for months before initiating it in Morocco.
According to the new agreement, Morocco will get 52.2 million euros (61.1 million U.S. dollars) annually, up from 40 million euros in the previous deal, for allowing the EU vessels to fish in its waters.
The level of compulsory landings and fishing categories remain unchanged compared with the former deal, while the number of vessels concerned by the new agreement would reach 128.
The deal, which only concerns Morocco’s Atlantic coasts, excludes the Mediterranean coast to preserve its over exploited resources.
It also excludes octopuses and shrimps to preserve these species.
