Exploitation of the fishing zone: Challenging the agreement between the State of Mauritius and the EU

Representatives of the association held a press conference this Thursday, October 27 at the social center Marie-Reine-de-la-Paix, Port Louis.

"We are tired of these big boats taking our fish," exclaimed the President of the Fishermen's Union, Judex Ramphul.The latter shows that several large fishing vessels ply the waters of Mauritius depriving fishermen of their catch as usual.

And this is also advanced by Mohamedally Lallmohamed, Secretary of the Fishermen's Union. "The European Union regularly renews its agreement with Mauritius in order to fish in our territory. In exchange, it allocates a sum of money to the state, but we never received anything, "said he.

During the briefing, the Fish also referred to what he calls "the false promises of government." Judex Ramphul refers to the compensation promised by the state to the fishermen and powder-d'Or those whose boats were damaged in the tsunami tidal wave that hit recently in the southern region of the country.

Unionists point out that the Minister of Fisheries, Nicolas Von-Mally, had assured the fishermen of powder-d'Or they would receive compensation of Rs 300 each day that the Angel a Panamanian cargo ship would remain off the area.

"Until now, these fishermen are still awaiting compensation. We must stop playing with people. Two months ago that the Panamanian cargo ship is stuck in the coral powder-d'Or and fishermen can not work, "says Ramphul Judex.

Another topic was on the agenda of the press conference. This is the plight of fishermen on the banks who complain that foreign vessels have permits operation in the fishing areas and refuse to employ fishermen Mauritius.

These fishermen are even considering a hunger strike for the government to act. They therefore provide a period of one month to the Minister of Fisheries to ensure that their demands are met.