Jun
19
Spanish vessel fishing in the Gan Sol fisheries ground. (Photo: Magrama)
Gran Sol quota will undergo 47 pc fall by 2020, ship owners warn
SPAIN
Wednesday, June 20, 2012, 03:10 (GMT + 9)
The fishing quota of the Galician fleet operating in the Gran Sol will undergo a 47 per cent reduction by 2020 if the proposals from Brussels for the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) come into force, warns the Cooperative Fisheries of ship owners of the Port of Vigo (ARVI).
In addition, the fishing quotas in sea areas along the Spanish and French coasts will also be reduced by 24 per cent.
To ARVI, this situation is caused by the implementation of a “guarantor” and “arbitrary” policy by the European Commission (EC), which sets reductions in the maximum allowable catches even though there are no data on stocks of most resources.
Out of a total of 195 fishing areas identified by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), there is no information about 105 areas that warrant such a severe reduction in quotas, La Opinion reported.
European Union (EU) Commissioner for Fisheries Maria Damanaki´s proposal considers an annual 25 per cent reduction until 2022 in the maximum allowable catches that Spain fishes in the area of Gran Sol
The main species captured in the region are megrim, monkfish, sole, cod, ray and lobster.
This year, the Spanish quota in Gran Sol and neighbouring areas — Bristol Channel, Iceland, Feroe, east and south of Greenland — for these resources amount to 9,907 tonnes.
That is to say, in 2022 the fleet could capture just 555 tonnes.
For coastal fisheries, the change would be from a quota of 6,630 tonnes allocated in 2012 to 356 tonnes in 2022.
Generally speaking, the boats of Galicia would lose 8,916 tonnes in Gran Sol between 2012 and 2020, and other vessels would lose 5,724 tonnes on the coast in the same period.
Xunta de Galicia agrees on the demand from the ship owners’ sector. In this regard, it is considered that the European guidelines are “unfair and illogical.”
To ARVI, the enforcement of the CFP will have a high economic and social cost.
With regard to employment, Brussels expects that in the next decade about 30,000 jobs will be lost. But ARVI estimates a loss of 50,000 jobs in the EU and of 8,000 jobs in Galicia.
Last May, ARVI announced its concern about the future of Spanish vessels from the fishing grounds of Gran Sol, whose disappearance is one of the situations deemed possible.
Currently, about 130 vessels are operating in these waters, 57 of which are from Vigo, while 25 years ago more than double this figure were fishing there.
According to a study issued by the cooperative of Vigo, which analyzes the consequences that would follow for the Spanish fishing activity after the CFP reform being negotiated by the EU, Community law would doom the national fleet to disappear.
“The Spanish fleet will be unable to meet the stated objectives of the reform because it does not have quotas for some species or there are insufficient quotas in others,” ARVI warned in the document.
The Galician government announced a “legal battle” to modify some aspects of the CFP reform.
Related article:
– Ship owners fear Gran Sol fleet to disappear
By Analia Murias
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com
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