Portugal seeks access to Morocco for traditional fishermen, EU concedes Morocco proposed access to 100 units

Portugal will seek an agreement with Morocco to obtain permission to conduct traditional fishing activities in Moroccan waters in a new attempt making a distinction between traditional and industrial fishing.

Portuguese agriculture minister, Luis Capoulais Santos, has talked over the phone with Morocco's fisheries minister, Said Chabaatou, and is reportedly planning to travel to Morocco to wrestle a proposal that he would submit to the EU fisheries ministers this month.

Portugal, which used to operate around 26 traditional trawlers in Moroccan waters until Nov.1999 when the previous agreement expired, believes Spain could also explore the idea of separating traditional and industrial fishing activities. Portugal also argues that the most complicated issues are the fishing of cephalopods and shellfish, two species in which they are not very interested.

Meanwhile, The EU commissioner for agriculture and fisheries, Franz Fishler conceded for the first time that Morocco actually proposed free of charge access to 100 units of traditional fishing for one year.

Morocco said the 100 vessels should not fish shellfish, nor cephalopods, nor shrimps and observe four biological rest periods per year, Fishler told Spanish private TV channel "Telecinco."

He said he would submit the Moroccan proposal to the European fisheries council slated for this April 25 in Luxembourg.