From Syria’s oil and Libya’s wealth, Erdogan eyes Mauritania

Discontent has prevailed in Mauritania recently, as a result of what an official report revealed about Turkey's plundering of the country's fish wealth outside the agreement signed between the two countries in this field years ago.

The official spokesman for the Mauritanian government, Sidi Ould Salem, entered the crisis line, saying, when questioned about that report, that the sharp decline in the country's stocks of "octopus" fish may actually be caused by exploitation, referring to Turkish attrition.

Meanwhile, Mauritanian analysts warned, in statements to Al-Ain News, that the country faces the risk of running out of this wealth, on which the country's economy depends, if those agreements signed in 2017 with the Turkish side are not stopped and they are expelled from the country's marine beaches.

In this context, the political analyst and civil activist, Hamza Al-Mahfouz, said that the message of the governor of Nouadhibou, Yahya Ould Sheikh Mohamed Fall, which rang the alarm of Turkish attrition, is "a cry for help to intervene to stop the Turkish depletion of our fish wealth," as he put it.

Al-Mahfouz explained that this cry confirms beyond any doubt what activists and local and international organizations are talking about in eradicating and destroying this wealth since Turkey entered with its huge fleets in Mauritanian waters.

"The Turkish fleets are catching all kinds of fish in huge quantities, in a blatant defiance of all agreements and customs, with the complicity of local officials whose only concern is their personal benefits," he said.

Al-Mahfouz indicated that Turkey's behavior is known towards the wealth of the Arab world, and this is evident in their exploitation of the war in Syria, their theft of oil and their humiliation of the arms and human trade there, just as it is in the Libyan affair, as Turkey today exploits the weakness of the Libyan state’s structure to seize and deplete Libya’s wealth.

Al-Mahfouz called on the Mauritanian state to confront Turkish oppression with fish wealth, review all agreements, bring to justice those involved in these crimes, and fine Turkish fleets in order to compensate for the heavy losses suffered in this sector. This deterioration will reach an irreversible extent, and at that time there will be no way to return. "

In turn, the writer and political analyst, Mahfouz Al-Jilani, said that it is no longer acceptable to remain silent on the futility of Turkish industrial fishing companies that wreak havoc in Mauritanian territorial waters.

Al-Gilani stressed the necessity of disrupting the agreements concluded with these companies, stopping them at their limits, imposing fines on them, and expelling them from the Mauritanian waters after it became clear that they had transgressed and flagrantly encroached on the country's wealth.

The letter of the Mauritanian governor of Nouadhibou to the Ministry of Fishing in the country, last Sunday, revealed the scale of the disaster and the risks facing the fish wealth due to the depletion of the Turkish fleet.

As soon as this message spread on social media, assurances emerged on the need to confront the Turkish tampering with the country's capabilities and wealth, and to close the door to this "ruthless ghoul."

According to an official census seen by the network, the quantity of "octopus" that was caught last December did not exceed 654 tons, compared to 4,384 tons in the same month of 2019.

This, he attributed the decrease in the quantity of fish as a result of the depletion of the Turkish fleet of fish wealth, and demanded the authorities to stop this depletion by "tightening control" on the Turkish fleet.

In his message, the Mauritanian governor of Nouadhibou recommended that the country's marine fisheries be closed to catching "octopus" for a period of four months, especially as it is one of the country's most important exports.

A recent bulletin issued by the Mauritanian Institute for Ocean Research and Fishing (governmental), about the state of the country's marine resources, indicated that the "octopus" fish stocks in Mauritania are under great exploitation.

(A)

ANHA