Protocol setting out, for the period 28 February 1998 to 27 February 2001, the fishing opportunities and financial contribution provided for in the Agreement between the European Economic Community and the Islamic Federal Republic of the Comoros on fishing off the Comoros.

The Protocol concerns the fishing opportunities of the European Economic Community in waters of the Islamic Federal Republic of the Comoros and the financial contribution and technical programmes for the development of the Comoros fisheries. Licences authorizing fishing in Comorian waters shall be granted to 44 freezer tuna seiners and 16 surface longliners for a period of three years. The financial compensation referred to in Article 6 of the Agreement shall be fixed at ECU 180 000 per year and shall cover catches of 4 500 tonnes per year in Comorian waters. Licences shall be issued to shipowners for a specific vessel at the request of the Commission of the European Communities. Licences shall be valid for one year renewable. The licence fee shall be set at ECU 20/tonne of tuna caught in Comorian waters. Licences shall be issued following advance payment to the Comoros of a lump sum of ECU 1 750 a year for each tuna seiner and ECU 750 a year for each surface longliner. The shipowners shall complete a statement of catch. 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 Ministry responsible for fisheries. Any coelacanth (Latimeria chalumnae) caught by a Community vessel remains property of the Comoros.