The European Court of Justice has overturned the validity of the 2019 Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement (SFPA) between the EU and Morocco. In a decision on 4 October, the court ruled that SFPA, together with another agricultural agreement, failed to consult with the people of Western Sahara and therefore violated their right to self-determination. The SFPA set out the areas where European vessels with Moroccan permits could fish and included Moroccan-controlled waters off the coast of the disputed territory. The SFPA expired in 2023, but the court’s decision will have ramifications for future fisheries agreements in the region.
In their response to the ruling, Europêche (Association of National Organisations of Fishing Enterprises in the EU) noted that, while the organisation respects the court’s decision, the sector is deeply disappointed. The ruling will stop the effective management of fishing grounds that meet the EU sustainability standards in West African waters. This will affect up to 128 European vessels, 700 fishermen, and 3500 onshore workers. Given shrinking fishing opportunities and depleting stocks, the decision to remove access to these grounds will have consequences for the EU fleet. Western Sahara is a sparsely populated territory on the west coast of Africa. The territory was a Spanish colony until 1975, when it was annexed by Morocco. It has since been the subject of a long-running territorial dispute between Morocco and the indigenous Sahrawi people. The United Nations considers the region a “non-self-governing territory”.