📋 Tender Overview
The implementation protocol of the fisheries agreement between Senegal and the European Union (EU) expires on 17 November 2024, five years after the start of its application.
Due to the shortcomings observed in the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, the EU cannot consider renewing the protocol until there is sufficient progress by Senegal in this area.
On 27 May 2024, the European Commission pre-identified Senegal as a non-cooperating country in the fight against IUU fishing. This decision is in line with the EU's zero tolerance policy on IUU fishing and follows several years of discussions with the Senegalese authorities. In the interests of political coherence, the European Commission has adopted the principle of suspending any renewal of a protocol implementing a fisheries partnership agreement with a coastal State until this decision is withdrawn.
A formal dialogue between the Senegalese and European authorities on IUU fishing issues has opened, with the aim of resolving the problems identified. Pending a favourable development, the fisheries agreement between the EU and Senegal will not be renewed. European vessels will therefore have to leave Senegalese waters when the protocol expires on 17 November, and Senegal will no longer receive any financial contribution under the fisheries agreement.
The absence of a fisheries protocol between the EU and Senegal is not a first. Between 2006 and 2014, the agreement was in fact stopped, allowing both parties to assess and renegotiate the conditions. The meeting of the Joint Commission in Brussels on 5 and 6 November allowed Senegal and the EU to have constructive discussions. The partners agreed to use this period of non-renewal to assess the results obtained under the current agreement. The EU remains ready to support Senegal in its efforts to combat IUU fishing and to help it address the shortcomings identified.
The European Commission takes note of the commitments of the new Senegalese Government to address the weaknesses in the control and traceability system for the fisheries sector and products, and remains available to support and assist Senegal in these efforts.
