RABAT, April 25 (Reuter) - A new fishing agreement between the European Union (EU) and Morocco will not be possible by April 30, when the present accord expires, EU Fisheries Commissioner Emma Bonino said on Tuesday.
She told a news conference it would take three to five weeks to complete the paperwork even if a deal was reached by Friday.
Some 700 mostly Spanish and Portuguese fishing vessels would be barred from Moroccan waters until agreement is reached.
"This file is a very complex one...we will not be able to reach an agreement on Friday because of the paperwork that is involved...I imagine it will take another three to five
weeks," Bonino said.
She said EU fishermen would be compensated for the temporary loss of livelihood. Bonino, who met Moroccan Prime Minister Abdellatif Filali and other officials on Monday, said the two sides still did not agree on the level of cuts demanded by Morocco to preserve stocks in its rich Atlantic waters.
At stake is the EU's most important external fisheries agreement, providing a livelihood for 28,000 fishermen and fish processors in Spain, the Canary Islands and Portugal.
Morocco wants a 50 percent cut in the number of vessels and reductions of between 30 and 65 percent in fish catches to preserve stocks within its 200-mile exclusion zone. It also wants catches landed in Morocco for monitoring purposes.
EU officials say they agree in principle to a cut in quotas but Bonino said Morocco's demand was unacceptable.
The current accord signed in 1992 allowed 716 EU boats to operate off Morocco. Spain has the lion's share with 90 percent.
Bonino, who came to Rabat barely a week after the end of a fishing dispute with Canada, denied negotiations with Morocco were blocked and said there were some areas of synergy.
She said she believed a fair accord could be reached based on respect for the sea and preservation of stocks.
Morocco says fishing provides a livelihood for 400,000 people and earns $600 million a year in exports. Morocco received about $130 million a year for fishing rights.
