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The EU-Moroccan Fisheries Partnership Agreement (FPA) is a fisheries agreement between the European Community (EC) and Morocco that allows European fishing vessels to fish off the shores of Morocco. The FPA allows community vessels from 11 Member States to fish in Moroccan waters and can be considered as one of the major fisheries agreement for the EC. It was signed on 28 July 2005, concluded on 22 May 2006 and entered into force on 28 February 2007. The agreement is set to expire on 27 February 2011.〔(Europa.eu )〕 The agreement provides for the granting of 119 fishing licenses for Community vessels (mostly Spanish, but also from other EU countries) and for a total of 6000 tonnes of pelagic fish for industrial fishing by vessels from France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal and Spain. In exchange, the EU is to pay Morocco a financial contribution of 144 million €, plus around 13.6 million € to be paid as fees by the shipowners.〔Enrico Milano, ("The new Fisheries Partnership Agreement between the European Community and the Kingdom of Morocco: fishing too south?" ), Anuario Espagnol de Derecho Internacional, vol XXII, 2006〕 The agreement is less ambitious than its predecessors, both in terms of financial contribution and of number of licenses and of pelagic species included. In particular, it excludes the fishing of valuable cephalopods and crustaceans, reflecting the concern of Morocco for the depletion of its fishing stocks, and its efforts to develop its own industrial fishing fleet (by 2006, Morocco was already the top fish exporter in Africa).〔 The geographic scope of application of the FPA is controversial; its extension to Western Saharan waters is considered by many to entail a violation of international law.〔 Morocco has occupied the larger part of Western Sahara since 1975,〔(FPIF )〕 and controls the waters offshore the territory. Since Moroccan stocks are largely depleted, the bulk of the fisheries nowadays takes place offshore Western Sahara.〔(Agence du Sud )〕 == Historical background == Large-scale fishing from mainland Spain in Moroccan waters began in the 1960s, with the expansion of the Spanish fishing industry, especially from Galicia. The 1975 Tripartite Agreement between Spain, Morocco and Mauritania (''Madrid Agreement'') included a commitment by Morocco not to impair the access of Spanish fishermen to the waters of Western Sahara. A first fisheries treaty signed in 1977 between Morocco and Spain never entered into force; a second was signed in 1983 and foresaw two different areas of application, north and south of Cape Noun, thus designating the latter as Western Saharan waters, in order not to imply a recognition of Moroccan sovereignty.〔 The accession of Spain and Portugal in the European Economic Community (EEC) in 1986 led to an exclusive EC competence on fisheries, also in its external relations. The first fisheries agreement between the EC and Morocco was signed in 1988. The 4-year agreement provided 800 annual licenses for Spanish and Portuguese trawlers, and contained no restrictions on quantities or species. In return Morocco received 282 million Euro. The 1992 EC-Moroccan Fisheries Agreement provided better conditions for Morocco in terms of financial compensation (310 million Euro) and longer biological rest periods. Yet disagreements over license use led an early termination of the agreement in April 1995. The 1992–95 agreement, in its Annex I, mentioned the port of Dakhla, thus indicating the inclusion of Western Sahara in its geographical scope.〔 A modified agreement was signed in November 1995. Financial compensation now amounted to 355 million Euros, of which a substantial part was earmarked for the development of the industrial fisheries sector, marine research and the training of Moroccan fishermen. When the agreement expired in November 1999, Morocco opposed renewal because it wanted to prevent total exhaustion of fish stocks. This created problems for the Spanish and Portuguese fishing fleets, who had always been the main beneficiaries of fishing licenses under the European Community's fisheries agreements with Morocco. Both had to undergo a process of restructuring and downscaling. There was no agreement into force until this new fisheries partnership agreement initialled in July 2005.〔(Medea )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「EU–Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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