Feb
26
Trawlers’ strike prevented mackerel fishing start
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Trawler in Vivero, Galicia. (Photo: O roxo – CC BY-SA 2.0)
Trawlers’ strike prevented mackerel fishing start
SPAIN
Wednesday, February 27, 2013, 01:10 (GMT + 9)
The Galician trawler sector decided to continue on strike, despite the start of the mackerel season, until specific answers to their claims are received. The local government has requested the fleet to reflect and to capture the pelagic species while it is available in Galician waters.
Trawler, longline and gillnet fishermen started mooring their boats on Wednesday and said that the cessation of the strike will depend on the outcome of the meetings held with the Ministry of Marine Affairs and with the Fisheries General Secretariat.
The union protest is based in the port of A Coruña, but was extended to Muxía, Ribeira and A Mariña. The latest ones to join were the ship owners from Celeiro and Burela.
In addition to the claim for the lack of fees for Spain, the affected fleet requests modifications to the use of the Onboard Electronic Journal (DEA), the rules governing the weighing of landed catches and the penalty point system.
Therefore, although the Executive authorized the start of the mackerel season from Monday February 25, shipowners and chiefs of the Galician trawlers decided not to go out fishing and to continue moored in an “indefinite” way.
Given this protest, the head of the Ministry of Marine Affairs, Rosa Quintana, persuaded the fleet to “reconsider” the issue and to go fishing for mackerel while in community waters, La Voz de Galicia reported.
Furthermore, Quintana stressed the importance of performing a good capture control because the EU “closely follows all the sector movements” and, unless the assigned quotas are respected, “a sanction will apply.”
As to the demand for the implementation of penalty point permits for the fisheries sector, Quintana explained that it is an effect “of the community regulations imposed by the EU that affect all member states.” And she added that as far as the rules are respected, “no one will have problems.”
Regarding the lack of quotas, the minister pointed out that Galicia and Spain are considering the reform of a new common fisheries policy and both administrations will do their best for the new quotas to be more appropriate to the fishing reality faced by the Spanish and the Galician.
Amid the protests, two trawlers from Ondarroa coast, in the Basque country, started the mackerel season by landing around 5,000 kilos. The species was paid between EUR 1.70 to 2.40 per kilo.
The ceilings for the catches of the mackerel season are kept in line with the previous year. For trawling, they are 7,500 kilos per vessel per day. For purse-seine fishing and for various other fishing modes, the reopening of the fishery was settled for Wednesday 27, with a landing ceiling of 6,000 kilos per vessel per day for purse seiners, and 2,000 kilos per vessel per day for other fishing modes.
Related articles:
– Mackerel fishing season divides Galician trawlers
– Galician coast fleet strike complicates fish supply
By Silvina Corniola
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com
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