Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Islamic Federal Republic of the Comoros on fishing off Comoros.

The purpose of this Agreement is to establish the principles and rules which will in future govern the fishing activities of vessels flying the flag of Member States of the Community in Comorian waters. Under this Agreement the fishing activities of Community vessels shall be subject to possession of a fishing licence issued by the Comorian authorities at the Community's request. The issue of a licence shall be subject to payment of a licence fee by the shipowner. In the Annex are set out the procedure for licence applications, the level of fees and arrangements for payment.
Licences shall be valid for one year, renewable. The licence fee shall be set at 20 ECU/tonne of tuna caught in Comorian waters. To avoid adverse effects on small-scale fisheries in Comorian waters, Community tuna vessels shall not be allowed to fish within 10 nautical miles of any of the islands nor within a radius of three nautical miles of fish aggregating devices placed by the Comorian authorities. Any coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae) caught by a Community vessel remains the property of Comoros. In return for the fishing opportunities accorded pursuant to Article 2, the Community shall make a financial contribution. This Agreement shall be concluded for an initial period of three years commencing from the date of its entry into force. (13 articles and 1 Annex)