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Downloading pilchard catches. (Photo: Stock File)
Galicia argues over criticism to pilchard quota set for ‘xeito’
SPAIN
Monday, January 19, 2015, 02:50 (GMT + 9)
The 200 tonnes of sardines, which the management plan for this species reserves for the ‘xeito’, exceed the average fished by vessels with this gear over the last 10 years, says the Galician government.
The Xunta de Galicia highlighted that between 2004 and 2014, the average annual sale of pilchard by the ‘xeito’ fleet is about 179 tonnes, a figure lower than the quota for the current year, amounting to 200 tonnes.
This assignment is done in a context in which the pilchard status of the species is extreme, and it is possible due to the efforts made by the central and regional government, who maintained contacts to ensure that, despite the scarcity of the species, no sector would be deprived of the possibility to fish pilchard.
In this case, the 200 tonnes are allocated to a sector in which among the 427 vessels authorized to use the ‘xeito’ gear in their 2014 operating permit, only 164 had at least 20 per cent of its revenues linked to the sale of pilchard. This means that, less than 4 out of 10 vessels authorized to use this gear met this criterion. In the last five years (2010-2014) the average of vessels meeting this criterion of dependency in at least three of the five years under consideration is 106.
According to the data presented, the Xunta wonders on what grounds some industry representatives base their view that pilchard amount allocated to xeito this year is not enough.
It is worth noting that the management plan for pilchard is a measure taken by the central government to prevent the European Union from imposing a total allowable catch (TAC) on this species, thus allowing the sector to work this year.
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com
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