European fishing vessels will imminently cease activities in Senegalese waters after the non-renewal of an agreement between Brussels and Dakar, EU ambassador Jean-Marc Pisani said Tuesday.

The accord between the European Union and the West African country that has been in force since 2019 is due to expire at midnight between Sunday and Monday.

Pisani said the agreement would not be renewed for the time being after the European Commission notified the Senegalese government in May of “shortcomings” regarding illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.

“These European boats will be able — it will be up to the shipowners — to continue fishing elsewhere”, he said, citing agreements between the EU and Senegal’s neighbours, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania and Cape Verde.

“It would not be consistent for the European Union, which has a zero-tolerance policy towards IUU fishing, to renew an agreement with countries that have been notified of this type of problem”, he said.