The Minister of Agriculture and Fishery, Mrs. Elena Espinosa, conveyed the Spanish Government’s opposition to the recent decision taken by the European Commission (EC) to close the fishery of tuna to the communitarian fleet, a measurement that she described as “inadmissibleâ€.
Minister Espinosa indicated that she has transferred the economic repercussion that this decision represents to the country’s artisan fleets to the EU Fishery Commissioner, Joe Borg,
Mrs. Espinosa demanded the Commission to guarantee that this year’s early closing of tuna fishery is not repeated in the future.
She also demanded the setting of methods to reassign the reduced fishery possibilities, as foreseen within the communitarian norms, which will provide compensation to those States members harmed by the overfishinhg of the communitarian quota established for bluefin tuna.
In addition, she indicated that the Commission was requested to be well foreseen of all necessary legal guarantees so that –in future years- the bluefin quota overfishing of one country does not affect the other countries and thus avoid an early closing of the fishery.
She also insisted that the possible penalties that could be imposed by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) should be immediately and directly inforced on the fleets that cause the overfishing, orienting control measures on the industrial purseseiners of the Mediterranean.
Minister Espinosa reaffirmed Spain’s leading position within the recovery plan of bluefin tuna in the Mediterranean, always protecting the country’s target for “responsible fishing, sustainable fishingâ€, and added that Spain continues to rigorously comply with this European plan.
National senator, Jose Ramon Urrutia, accused the French and Italian fleets of exercising a devastating form of fishery, which has harmed other communitarian fleets, such as Spain’s. The Spanish fleet endured damages as it had to stop its fishing operations and return to port.