On Wednesday, Parliament will vote on a renewed five-year fisheries agreement with Guinea Bissau.
The updated protocol – provisionally applied since 18 September 2024 – grants 28 freezer tuna seiners and longliner vessels, and 13 pole-and-line tuna vessels, from Spain, Italy, Greece, France and Portugal, access to Guinea Bissau’s waters. It allows European fishers to catch 3,500 gross registered tonnage (GRT) of cephalopods and 3,700 GRT of shrimp per year, until 2029.
In exchange, the EU will provide €85 million in funding over the five years. This consists of €17 million per year, with €4.5 million set aside annually to promote Guinea-Bissau’s sustainable fisheries management, aid their control and surveillance capacities, and support local fishing communities. These figures represent an annual increase of nearly €1 million in the EU’s financial contribution compared to the previous protocol. Including the licence and capture fees paid by shipowners to Guinea-Bissau, the total amount of funding will surpass €100 million over the five year period.
Background
The agreement with Guinea-Bissau is the EU’s second most important fisheries partnership deal with a non-EU country – after Mauritania – and one of just two active agreements with West African countries granting EU vessels access to mixed fisheries.
Vote: Wednesday, 2 April
Procedure type: consent
Source: European Parliament l Briefing March 27, 2025 l Newsletter – 31 March – 3 April 2025 – Strasbourg plenary session
