EU Threatens To Punish Spain For Lack Of Inspection In Fisheries ff

The European Commission has opened infraction proceedings against several countries, including Spain, for not properly informing the Brussels Authorities about their tuna catches.

Allegations of environmental organizations, stating that Spain is exceeding on catches, are beginning to bear fruit on the unreliability of inspection systems, control and sanctions in the fisheries sector.

The latest criticism comes from the European Court of Auditors that highlights the huge gap between the numbers of fish reported to the Commission and those stated in the national database. The European body spares no reproach on oversight procedures to detect and prevent these violations and describes them as “ineffective”.

The responsibility for this work is in hands of the General Secretariat of Maritime Fisheries and subordinate to the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. Only about 75 officials perform the inspection services throughout the whole Spanish country. To compensate for this lack of resources, the Secretary-General of Fisheries has made collaboration agreements enabling staff from the Civil Guard and the Navy to carry out inspections. The officials of both these groups have been granted full authority although they do not comply with the regulation requirements.

These collaboration agreements are said to cost several millions, which represent most of the budget allocated to the fishery controls.

France has also been sentenced to a fine of 20 million euros for its failure to implement its obligations on this topic.

If Spain is eventually penalized for this same reason, the sanctions will also reach millions.