What do the figures on the EU–Mauritania fisheries agreement show?
Between 2022 and 2024, EU fleets used only 32% of the overall catch limits available under the fisheries protocol with Mauritania. The figure, however, is largely driven by the 225,000-tonne allocation for small pelagics, which was used at an average rate of 29%. For crustaceans and black hake, all available fishing authorisations were used. The challenge for the next protocol will therefore be to reduce unused capacity without penalising fleets that genuinely depend on access to Mauritanian waters.
The fisheries agreement between the European Union and Mauritania appears oversized in terms of its overall volume, but not across all fishing activities. The quota reserved for small pelagics, which represents around 85% of the total catch limit, was used at an average rate of 29%. Fishing authorisations for crustaceans and black hake were fully used, while the specialised crustacean fleet has few alternatives to Mauritanian waters.
The new protocol will therefore need to reduce unused capacity without penalising the fishing activities that genuinely depend on access to these waters.
A single percentage can tell only part of the story. In the case of the fisheries agreement between the European Union and Mauritania, the average use of just 32% of total catch limits might suggest that the agreement has become marginal or excessively costly.
The reality is more complex. Most of the unused capacity is concentrated in the very large allocation for small pelagics, while other fishing categories make full use of the authorisations available to them.
Pesceinrete has already examined the risk of EU fishing activity in Mauritania being interrupted after 14 November. With less than two months before the protocol expires, concerns raised by the Spanish crustacean fleet point to another important issue: European fleets do not all depend on Mauritanian waters to the same extent.
The overall 32% figure is driven mainly by small pelagics
According to the official European Commission evaluation of the 2021–2026 protocol, between 2022 and 2024 an average of 55% of the maximum number of fishing authorisations available under the protocol was used. Utilisation of the overall catch limits was considerably lower, at 32%, corresponding to an average annual catch of 85,573 tonnes.
The difference is largely explained by the category reserved for pelagic freezer trawlers. Its allocation reaches 225,000 tonnes, representing around 85% of the fishing opportunities covered by the agreement.
Between 2022 and 2024, an average of only 29% of this allocation was used, although utilisation increased from 17% in 2022 to 42% in 2024. Such a large allocation, only partly exploited, therefore pushes down the utilisation rate of the protocol as a whole.
The situation is very different for crustaceans and black hake. In both categories, the maximum number of available fishing authorisations was used, while catches reached at least 70% of the respective limits.
This does not mean that the two fleets have the same degree of dependence on Mauritania. It does, however, show that a uniform reduction in fishing opportunities could penalise activities that already make substantial use of the access granted to them.
Mauritania has few substitutes for the crustacean fleet
The crustacean category provides for a maximum of 18 vessels and an annual allocation of 5,000 tonnes. The available opportunities have been fully used, primarily by Spanish operators. The current allocation, access conditions and operator fees are detailed in the European Commission’s official page on the EU–Mauritania Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement.
These vessels partly alternate their operations between Mauritania and Guinea-Bissau, but operators consider Mauritanian waters more favourable because of the availability of coastal shrimp and the greater extent of accessible fishing grounds. According to operators consulted during the European evaluation, Guinea-Bissau would already reach saturation with only seven or eight vessels.
For this fleet, therefore, Mauritania is not an easily replaceable fishing ground. This explains why the Spanish association Anamar has described the agreement as historic and difficult to replace, calling for negotiations to prevent any interruption after 14 November.
This operational dependence is accompanied by significant costs. The fee for crustaceans is €450 per tonne, while fuel, vessel transfers and biological closure periods all affect the economic sustainability of fishing operations. In 2025, the category also faced a total of four months of biological closure.
The new protocol must distinguish between unused capacity and real dependence
The European evaluation considers the agreement relevant to the objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy, but finds its economic efficiency unsatisfactory. The central problem is not the absence of fishing activity, but rather the gap between some of the opportunities negotiated and their actual use.
The report recommends aligning fishing allocations more closely with the real demand of the fleets and introducing an automatic reduction in the European financial contribution when certain fishing opportunities remain unused. Such an approach could reduce public expenditure without limiting access for categories that make full use of the authorisations available.
Renewal will also have to address the management of fishery resources. Shrimp stocks remain within levels considered compatible with sustainability, while black hake, Atlantic pomfret (Brama brama) and several demersal species are in more critical condition. Scientific observer programmes on board vessels, catch monitoring and the planning of support for Mauritania’s fisheries sector also need to be strengthened.
Renewing the agreement, therefore, cannot simply mean reproducing the current distribution of fishing opportunities unchanged. The objective should be to preserve opportunities that are genuinely used while correcting those that have remained largely theoretical.
Italy has 600 tonnes but transfers them to Spain
Within the crustacean category, Italy is allocated 600 tonnes per year. This nominal allocation does not, however, correspond to a stable presence of Italian vessels in Mauritanian waters.
The European evaluation notes that Italy and Portugal have relatively few ocean-going vessels specialised in crustaceans and that the vessels available are already mainly operating in Guinea-Bissau. Italian and Portuguese fishing opportunities in Mauritania are therefore transferred to Spain, which fully uses the allocation.
For Italy, the risk of an interruption does not therefore concern a national fleet directly dependent on Mauritania to the same extent as the Spanish fleet. The issue nevertheless remains relevant for EU fisheries policy, seafood supply balances and Italian operators involved in processing, importing and marketing seafood products.
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The choice is not simply between maintaining the existing agreement unchanged and abandoning it altogether. The European Union must ensure continuity for fleets with few alternative fishing grounds while at the same time eliminating the cost of opportunities that are systematically left unused.
The apparent paradox is therefore easily explained: the agreement is oversized overall, but essential for certain fishing activities. The new protocol will be effective only if it succeeds in addressing both realities.