20120728
AFP
Mauritania and the European Union signed a new fishing accord Thursday after months of heated debate to agree on the EU's exact financial contribution.

"We agreed on a two-year accord after a marathon 15 months of negotiations that were intense at times," Mauritanian negotiator Cheikh Ould Baya said Thursday after signing the accord.

The EU will contribute an annual 113 million euros ($138 million) in financing to Mauritania's fishing industry, up from the 76.5 million it gave under the previous accord, he said.

That four-year protocol agreement on fishing will expire Tuesday.

Under the new accord, the two sides agreed that the EU boats fishing in Mauritanian waters would be staffed 60 percent by Mauritanians.

According to official statistics, the fishing sector represents over 20 percent of budget revenue and employs more than 36,000 people in Mauritania.