It seems that the European Union has fished between eyebrows and eyebrows. At a time when the industry is still unable to digest the cuts in the last two years when it comes to fishing, Brussels is back in the fight and already prepare a new slice for the next exercise. Aware of the devastating impact of the measure, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries is negotiating with the European Commissioner to stop the measure. Meanwhile, fishermen of the province of Alicante, affected by the increase in fuel pricesthey warn that they will have no choice but to permanently anchor the navy and pursue other occupations.
The policy of shortening the fishing days in Mediterranean waters means that 130 trawlers operating in the province, 240 trawlers caught two years ago can only fish 165 days this year. Logically, that’s a reduction with direct consequences on catches that fell by about 20%, ie 1,900 tonnes less catches per year. Its impact on the industry is so great that it is currently The continuity of 800 jobs is at risk.
Well, as if that wasn’t enough, the European Union is planning a new segment for 2023 that will be the last straw for activity. The extent of the cut was not specified, although at this time the alarm was raised and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries sought to stop the coup through the ministry. This was stated by the regional secretary, Roger Llanes. Meetings are held with the European Commissioner responsible for the sectorVirginius Sinkevicius to try to dissuade him of his intentions.
Llanes regrets that Mediterranean fishing from Brussels is treated as an industrial business, even though it is actually based on traditional arts. Likewise, before Consell accepts any new restrictions, Evaluate the effects of a number of additional measures currently being implementedSuch as creating exclusion zones or variations in nets to limit activity to the size of the target fish. “These are recommendations approved by the Institution of Oceanography, and the logical thing is to wait to see the results.”
The regional secretary recalls that last year the Spanish ministry was already against the cuts and that the steps taken finally allowed seven days instead of the originally planned 14 days. In any case, the goal is not to put the scissors back in the next exercise, “because industry is in shambles‘ he warns.
And that’s just what fishermen think. Juan Mulet, secretary of the provincial federation, said: “If the European Union’s intentions succeed, then withdraw and let’s go. The industry is already heavily penalized, not only because it has far fewer days to go fishing right now, but also because of the massive increase in fuel prices.
Currently, the central government’s promised direct aid to fisheries is about to emerge to mitigate the rise in prices, but despite this, Mulet said, «People practically go fishing to cover their diesel costs.Social Security and personal income tax».
In a similar way, Rafael Torres, representative of Alicante fishermen, has already said that «three out of four captains will be willing to scrap their boats given the very low returns they get from their business. In addition, they put more obstacles in front of us in every sense, starting with the equipment that the boats themselves have to carry.
Moisés Herades, senior boss of the Brotherhood of Xà bia, claims that at the moment the operation is no longer profitable, so if a new cut is introduced, “we will have no choice but to give up. of course, what It makes no sense to go sailing to lose money».
Source: Informacion
Christina Moncayo is a contributing writer for “Social Bites”. Her focus is on the gaming industry and she provides in-depth coverage of the latest news and trends in the world of gaming.