The implementation of the new fisheries agreement between Seychelles and the European Union came under scrutiny in the National Assembly. This happened after the Leader of the Opposition, Bernard Georges, raised a Private Notice Question (PNQ).
Mr Georges asked about the content of the agreement, the stage it had reached, and the reasons for the delay. He also asked about its financial impact on Seychelles’ economy.
Minister for Fisheries, Agriculture and the Blue Economy Wallace Cosgrow said the final round of negotiations ended on 12 March during an online session. He said this followed a fourth round of talks held in Brussels in mid-January.
“The last round of protocol negotiations for this agreement with the European Union ended on 12th March and it was an online session after we did a fourth round in Brussels mid January,” Mr Cosgrow said.
He said the European Union must complete several internal procedures before signing the agreement.
“Their procedures do not take less than three months as we anticipated,” he added.
Mr Cosgrow said Seychelles’ Ambassador to the European Union, Kenneth Racombo, initialled the protocol in Brussels in April.
“The procedure to initial the agreement is a procedure to confirm the end of negotiations and that the two parties accept the final document that was negotiated,” he said.
The minister said the protocol then required approval from the Council of the European Union. Afterward, it needed legal and linguistic reviews by the European Union and Seychelles’ Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
“We received the official documents from the European Union on the 17th of June, and the legal review was completed and accepted by both parties on July 3rd after some exchanges,” Mr Cosgrow said.
He told the Assembly that the Council of the European Union adopted the protocol on 7 July 2026. He also said both parties would sign the agreement in Brussels on 27 July.
“The agreement will then immediately come into provisional force and EU vessels will be able to submit the licence application to SFA so that they can start fishing in Seychelles waters,” he said.
Mr Cosgrow said the European Union’s ratification process could take up to one year. However, he said the delay was expected because of the European Union’s internal procedures.
He also outlined the main changes in the new agreement. The protocol will run for four years instead of six. The annual access fee will increase from €2.5 million to €2.75 million. Sectoral support will rise from €2.5 million to €3 million each year.
Mr Cosgrow said the reference tonnage will increase from 50,000 tonnes to 55,000 tonnes. Furthermore, he explained that the European Union pays the access fee in advance, even if vessels do not catch the full quota.
He added that the licence fee for tuna vessels will increase from €59,500 to €72,000 for the first 800 tonnes caught. Additionally, the environmental fee will increase from €2.25 to €2.50 per gross tonne for each vessel.
According to the minister, the Seychelles Fisheries Authority (SFA) collects more than €175,000 each year through the environmental fee. He said the money funds environmental projects, including the collection of fish aggregating devices (FADs).
Mr Cosgrow also said Seychelles had maintained the charge of €35 per day for each Seychellois mariner not carried on board when required. He added that the protocol introduces a new “rendezvous clause”. This clause makes surveillance cameras or electronic observers on vessels mandatory.
Turning to the financial impact of the delay, Mr Cosgrow said it had affected the Seychelles Fisheries Authority’s revenue.
“In its budgetary planning this year, SFA expected to collect 220.3 million Seychelles rupees with a deficit of 47.1 million rupees in line with planned projects that they were going to implement,” he said. “Based on their mid-year review, taking into consideration the impact in the delay of signing the new protocol, SFA’s budget has been revised to project the decrease in revenue which is now 201.7 million rupees which represents 18.5 million rupees less.”
He said the authority had introduced measures to control spending. He also said SFA had built financial reserves over the years to protect its operations during such situations.
Mr Georges argued that the minister had not addressed the wider economic consequences of the delay.
“There must have been other economic impact on IOT for example, there must have been an economic impact on the revenue of stevedores, there must have been an economic impact on refuelling or bunkering that SEYPEC does. Give us a figure even if its approximate,” he said.
Mr Cosgrow replied that it was difficult to provide financial estimates within the time available to answer the question. Therefore, he said his ministry would carry out the necessary analysis and present the findings to the National Assembly once the government completed its assessment.
Opposition members argued that the government should have anticipated the financial impact of the delayed negotiations. Moreover, they said the government should have presented an assessment to the Assembly.