According to Malagasy authorities, on September 28, Madagascar and the European Union agreed to resume cooperation on tuna fishing for the next four years.
The previous agreement expired in 2018 after the parties failed to resolve a dispute over the regulation of fishing in Madagascar’s territorial waters.
Under the new arrangements, the access fees for catching tuna have been increased.
Thus, the price to be paid by European trawlers for the catch of fish will increase to 220 euros per ton from 142 euros previously.
This increase makes Madagascar the country with the second highest access fee for tuna catches in the world.
With this increase Madagascar becomes the country with the second highest access tariff for tuna catches in the Indian Ocean after that in force in Mauritius ($225).
In addition, the European fishing fleet will be reduced by 25-30% and the total allowable catch will be limited to 14,000 tons per year.