By Tabora Bojang
The minister of fisheries, Musa Drammeh, has agreed there is “room for improvement” in the fisheries agreement The Gambia signed with the European Union.
The deal covers a period of six years and will give access to European vessels from Spain, France and Greece to fish 3,300 tonnes of tuna as well as 750 tonnes of hake per year. In return, the EU pays The Gambia an yearly contribution of 550,000 euros, half of which covers the access rights of EU vessels.
Since the signing of the deal, Gambians have called out the deal as exploitative and a threat to The Gambia’s food security due to its direct negative impact on small-scale fishermen.
On Tuesday, several lawmakers used the adjournment debate to call for a review of the agreement to ensure it is fairer and more sustainable.
Foñi Jarrol lawmaker Kebba Sanneh charged: “This fisheries agreement is a total scam. It will never benefit this country. We cannot even tell the number of foreign trawlers that are fishing in our waters. We need to revise the agreement and look into it properly.”
In response, Minister Musa Drammeh replied: “I would not call this agreement a scam even though I agree there is room for improvement. I have spoken about it in this assembly. Personally, I believe there is a lot of room for improvement-regarding the sector support that we are getting from the EU.”
The minister, however, stated that in addition to the sector support, the government is also collecting licensing fees from EU vessels fishing in Gambian waters.
The agreement is set to expire in July 2025 and it remains unclear whether The Gambia will opt to renew it or put a lid on it as the new government in Senegal has done.
