Gabon: End of fishing agreement with the European Union
Japan-Gabon Fishing Agreement
Written by: Ayman Ragab
The European Union announced that the fishing protocol in force between the EU and Gabon will expire on Sunday and will not be renewed immediately, a year after the Gabonese president condemned these agreements.
The organization's headquarters in Gabon confirmed in a Facebook post that “the European Union is ready to address the concerns expressed in recent months in a constructive and transparent manner.”.
Unequal partnership
In June 2025, President Brice Oligui Nguema announced that he had initiated “unilateral denunciation procedures” for these agreements, pointing to a “severely imbalanced” partnership that needed to be renegotiated.
The European Union has affirmed its readiness to negotiate a “new generation sustainable new sustainable fisheries partnership agreement and a new mutually beneficial implementing protocol,” claiming to adopt a forward-looking approach for a “renewed, balanced and effective framework.”.
The Sustainable Fisheries Partnership Agreement (SFA) between the European Union and Gabon was signed in 2007 and allows European vessels to fish in Gabonese waters.
Weak returns
The President of the Republic particularly noted that the revenues from this agreement do not compensate for the real value of the catch, nor for the costs incurred by the state in terms of monitoring and control, nor for the loss of added value due to the absence of local processing, the government explained in detail last June in a report to the Council of Ministers that questioned the agreement.
He further stated: “He also denounced the weakness of investments made by partners for local development, employment, or strengthening national capacities, as well as the increased risks of overexploitation of fisheries resources, in the absence of common mechanisms for transparency and scientific monitoring.”.
The APPD program has been renewed several times until 2021 for five years, with an estimated total value of around 17 billion African francs (approximately 26 million euros), according to the Gabonese Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
