The fishermen of Barbate and Conil will be returning to Moroccan waters after a three-year break following the EU rejection of an extension to the existing fishing agreement with Morocco.
The EU rejected an extension to the fishing agreement in operation until 2011 and it has taken three years to negotiate a new one. The trawler owners picked up their licences on Friday in Algeciras and they hope to begin fishing on Monday.
It is thought that the return to Moroccan waters will create a significant number of jobs, both direct and indirect, in the ports of Algeciras, Barbate and Conil. There is still some apprehension as the boats will have first have to pass a technical inspection in Tangier.