Total admissible catches and experimental fishing quotas in the pink lobster: (Palinurus mauritanicus, Gruvel ۱۹۱۱) a new opportunity for economic development in West Africa?

Over the last thirty years, the poor state of certain fish stocks in the Large Marine Ecosystem of the Canary Current gradually revealed the limits of the West African fisheries management. The Ecosystem Approach advocated in Mauritania, calls to change the perception of fisheries management to incorporate participatory management considerations total admissible catches (TACs) and fishing quotas. An experiment around, a total allowable capture of ۸۰۰ tons of pink lobster (Palinurus mauritanicus) is at the heart of this approach using methodological tools of analysis / assessment of the economic performance of crawfish exploratory fishery. Survey results show that during the period from February ۲۰۱۵ to January ۲۰۱۶, the fishery was based on a total of ۲۳ vessels. ۵۲% is held by Mauritanian and the rest is chartered with European (EU) ship owners. The capture of the Mauritanian fishery is significantly higher than that of the European Union, respectively ۳۹۳ tons against ۳۹۰ tons. ۹۸% of the overall production volume is in live lobsters, mainly for the European market. This production generated sales of ۴.۲۶ billion MRO Affairs. Overall, experimental rock lobster industry is an important macroeconomic activity. The Turnover (CA) represents approximately ۵% of revenue from exports of the Mauritanian Fish Marketing Company in ۲۰۱۵ (US ۲۶۸ million) and ۱۳% of fishing GDP in ۲۰۱۴ (۳۳.۴۷ billion MRO, BCM ۲۰۱۵). Over two thirds of this amount (۳.۶۲ billion MRO) is generated by the (VA) Added Value ۸۵% of turnover. The VA created by Mauritanian operators is ۱۰% more than the VA created by European operators. The Fixed Annual Costs and the Estimated Gross Excess (FACEGE) represents ۱.۳ MRO billion or ۳۲% of sales. More than half (MRO ۸۹۶.۶ million) in FACEGE is generated by Mauritanian. Experimental lobster industry creates ۵۵۷ direct and indirect jobs. These jobs represent ۱۰% of the industrial fishing jobs, globally estimated at ۳۷۶۴ Live ۲۰۱۴. It is estimated that the Mauritanian segment creates ۲۵% more jobs than the European segment. This assessment of socio-economic performance of the exploratory fishery in Mauritania lobster is a first step towards a deeper understanding of its cost structure and its dynamics, necessary for the management of TACs and fishing quotas.  

Keywords:

Palinurus mauritanicus , Economic performance , European fleet , Turnover , Added value , Mauritania , West Africa.