Total admissible catches and experimental fishing quotas in the pink lobster (Palinurus mauritanicus, Gruvel 1911) : a new opportunity for economic development in West Africa ?

International audienceOver 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 800 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 2015 to January 2016, the fishery was based on a total of 23 vessels. 52% 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 393 tons against 390 tons. 98% of the overall production volume is in live lobsters, mainly for the European market. This production generated sales of 4.26 billion MRO Affairs. Overall, experimental rock lobster industry is an important macroeconomic activity. The Turnover (CA) represents approximately 5% of revenue from exports of the Mauritanian Fish Marketing Company in 2015 (US $ 268 million) and 13% of fishing GDP in 2014 (33.47 billion MRO, BCM 2015). Over two thirds of this amount (3.62 billion MRO) is generated by the (VA) Added Value 85% of turnover. The VA created by Mauritanian operators is 10% more than the VA created by European operators. The Fixed Annual Costs and the Estimated Gross Excess (FACEGE) represents 1.3 MRO billion or 32% of sales. More than half (MRO 896.6 million) in FACEGE is generated by Mauritanian. Experimental lobster industry creates 557 direct and indirect jobs. These jobs represent 10% of the industrial fishing jobs, globally estimated at 3764 Live 2014. It is estimated that the Mauritanian segment creates 25% 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