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Mackerel landing. (Photo: Juan Murias/Copyright: FIS)
Mackerel quota distribution generates further conflict
SPAIN
Friday, March 07, 2014, 03:00 (GMT + 9)
The General Secretariat of Fisheries under the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Magrama) issued a written statement last Monday claiming the owners of the Galician seine fleet must decide what type of management each of them prefers.
However, the previous week most shipowners had already agreed on a linear mackerel distribution, as long as all boats are included in the same distribution option.
While the conflict between the Government and the industry seemed to have been solved, a group of owners held an urgent meeting at Portosín to analyze the written statement and ensured “This is a joke.”
As a result, mackerel fishermen decided to re-moored their vessels as a sign of protest and continue the demonstration that had started in late January due to the distribution of pelagic resource quotas.
About 107 seine vessels with a total of 150 surveyed boats in Galicia claimed the Executive a distribution of mackerel quotas per vessel, with a linear distribution that assigns a number of kilos per crew embarked on it.
“The assembly will abide by the proposed distribution from the General Secretariat provided all vessels from the seine fishing census of Galicia are included in the same distribution option and it exclusively refers to 2014 distribution,” they added.
The official statement does not include the primary requirement of the owners: the linear distribution.
“It states that we should organize ourselves as everyone of us wants to, either individually, in association, per organisation or per province … And this seems as a joke,” pointed out the Shipowners Seine Association of Galicia (Acerga), the newspaper La Opinión informed.
“They do not take into account our requirements so we have not rated the statement sent to us, which should not even exist,” they added.
Shipowners stressed “We will all take all the necessary measures, legal ones and we will organise demonstrations so that our industry is respected.”
Finally, the president of the Federation of Fishermen of Galicia, Benito Gonzalez, declined “to add fuel to the fire” and decided not to give an opinion, the newspaper Faro de Vigo reported.
However, he stressed that some boats had to return to port after having left in order to do their fishing tasks or to test rigs.
Related article:
– Government and purse seine fleet reach agreement on pelagic quotas
By Analia Murias
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com
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