The deal ends months of uncertainty after a previous agreement expired at the end of 2001.

The EU made several concessions to reach the deal, including paying 4m euros a year more than under the previous deal.

EU spokesman

There was specific concern about small Senegalese fishermen and we are going to spend 3m euros to develop the local industry

Gregor Kreuzhuber

It also bans 'pelagic' fishing, where a net is dragged by two trawlers and results in many fish being caught that are not wanted and then thrown overboard.

"It strikes a fair balance. It's a win-win ... [but] there are fewer fishing possibilities because there's no scientific basis for it," Gregor Kreuzhuber, spokesman for EU Fishing Commissioner Franz Fischler, told BBC News Online.

The new fishing rights will help sustain the Spanish, Portuguese and Greek fishing fleets which have previously fished off Senegal, but they will have to be reduced in size.

Conservationists have criticised the deal, claiming it would damage Senegal's fish stocks and harm the livelihoods of local people as happened in the European and US fishing grounds.

Good catch?

After the last four year concession expired, Senegal's fishing authorities said it was illegal for EU boats to operate in its waters.

The new deal includes a two-month rest period to help replenish fish stocks.

While the EU lands more than six million tonnes, the Senegalese haul only about 9,500 tonnes a year.

About 600,000 people in Senegal depend on the fishing industry, the country's biggest export earner, for their livelihoods.

"There was specific concern about small Senegalese fishermen and we are going to spend 3m euros to develop the local industry," said Mr Kreuzhuber.

The EU has similar fishing deals with countries like Morocco and Mauritania, which helps maintain the EU's fishing fleets, because of over fishing in European waters.

The 16m euros in annual royalties that will be paid to Senegal is half way between the 20m euros asked by the former French colony and the 12m euros initially offered by the EU.