In order to support its considerable fishing fleet, which has exploited the resources in its own waters to the point of exhaustion, the EU seeks bilateral fisheries agreements with African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. As part of a broader trade agreement, the EU sought to negotiate a fisheries agreement with South Africa; however the manner in which this was done was in fact illegal according to international law. Aside from breaking the law there are a number of other problematic issues with the negotiation process of the overall trade agreement between the EU & South Africa. In spite of this the agreement is often heralded as one that should be followed by other ACP countries. Consequently the agreements with the surrounding countries in the region are being streamlined according to the TDCA and vice versa. Although a fisheries agreement was never reached, the danger here is that the streamlining process will nonetheless present the EU with possibilities to gain access to South African waters.
This could happen through other means than formal fisheries agreements, as the policy towards foreign direct investment, in the form of joint ventures between EU and South African fishing companies, is liberalised through the streamlining. This would effectively give the EU companies access to South African waters.
Africa Contact therefore urges our partners to start a critical engagement with the trade agreements because they have vast and pervasive effects, as they cover much more than trade in goods.
The EU, with its formidable market for fish products, is a major player in global fish trade.
out of every 5 fish that are exported worldwide end in the EU.
Consequently, the external effects of the EU’s Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) are far-reaching and of utmost importance for many African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries, and specifically for the coastal societies in these countries. South Africa is the second largest African exporter of fish to the EU, and the EU imports half of all the fish exports from South Africa.