BRUSSELS, Aug 24 (Reuter) - The European Union and Morocco resume marathon fisheries talks here on Friday with agreement on a new three-year fisheries deal to allow mainly Spanish boats to return to Moroccan waters still a long way off.

EU Fisheries Commissioner Emma Bonino has said that a deal is highly unlikely before the EU's September 1 deadline due to strong disagreement over reductions in EU fish catches.

But a glimmer of optimism was provided on Thursday by Moroccan Fisheries Minister Mustapha Sahel, who reaffirmed in a phone call to Bonino that Morocco was ready to negotiate on all points, a senior EU fisheries aide told reporters.

"All the elements are there for an accord but there's nothing concrete as we haven't drafted anything," the aide said, adding he hoped progress could be made now negotiators had recharged their batteries after a six-day break.

The EU and Morocco last Saturday ended nearly 10 days of fruitless talks deadlocked over how to proceed.

The EU wanted to start drafting a text specifying areas of agreement, such as fishing controls, leaving points of disagreement, notably fish catches, blank.

But Morocco disagreed, saying that drafting a text should only start after there was an overall agreement.

A new agreement is especially important for Spain, where 650 fishing vessels have been tied up in port since the end of April when Morocco scrapped a previous agreement.