Swedish fishermen to pay fine for Western Sahara fisheries
Article image
Two Swedish fishermen are obliged to pay a half a million euro fine for fishing in occupied Western Sahara.
Published 15 December 2015


The Supreme Court of Sweden has decided not to accept the appeal of two Swedish fishermen. An eight year long legal process against the fishing group in Dakhla has thus come to an end.

22 April this year, a lower instance had fined the two 4,5 million Swedish kroners (approx half million euros) for illegal fisheries in Western Sahara during the years of 2007 and 2008.

tn_greenpeaced_509.jpgThe European Court of Justice has also confirmed that the two had been fishing illegal, as the practice was not done under the EU-Moroccan fisheries partnership agreement.

The fishermen were sentenced because they did not have the two relevant permissions when they were spotted by EU vessels about to fish in Western Sahara spring 2007. The EU-Moroccan Fisheries Partnership Agreement had just come into force and Swedish Fisheries Authorities were immediately contacted by European Commission. Sweden had voted no to the Agreement in 2006 since such fisheries are in violation of international law.

The two fishermen had claimed that they had private agreements with a Moroccan fish factory owner and holder of fishing licences in order to facilitate for Morocco to develop a modern fishing fleet.

The men is said to have earned 20 million Swedish kroners on the illegal fisheries, according to Swedish national radio yesterday.

Swedish media yesterday did not mention which date the Supreme Court denied the appeal, but it appears to have been yesterday, 14 December 2015.

Western Sahara has been occupied by the neighbouring country of Morocco since 1975. Half the people of the territory has been living as refugees since. The UN is working for the decolonisation of Western Sahara.

Swedish vessels entering occupied waters

Swedish fishing vessels are being exported to occupied Western Sahara.  

29 June 2023

New report: Sweden must advise companies on Western Sahara

Sweden is known for paying lip-service to Saharawi self-determination, but is it putting its money where its mouth is? Check out our newly published report on Sweden's involvement in the taking of occupied Western Sahara's natural resources.

27 September 2017

Swedish fishermen guilty of illegal fisheries

An eight year long legal process in Sweden has come to an end. The two Swedish fishermen which were fishing offshore occupied Western Sahara without proper licences are found guilty.
23 April 2015

ECJ finds Swedish fisheries in Western Sahara illegal

The European Court of Justice has in an answer to a question from a Swedish court of appeal informed that private fisheries agreements with Moroccan authorities are not allowed outside of the context of the EU-Morocco Fisheries Partnership Agreement.

12 October 2014