Until now, the discomfort and indignation caused by the European Union’s (EU) shortening of fishing days was known in the sector, but the true scope of this measure has been revealed. And the numbers just released are truly devastating because Catches in the province of Alicante decreased by 1,826 tons last year16% less than the previous year. Turnover remained at similar levels, although yes, it did not even remotely compensate for the increase in fuel prices. Frustrated by the lack of profitability, the fleet demands more European assistance.
The policy of shortening fishing days in Mediterranean waters for the trawler fleet has had disastrous results in the industry. The EU cut the scissors two years ago, in 2021 the boats are already they were only able to go out for 180 days, compared to the 240 days they had enjoyed before.. The Valencia Institute for Statistics (IVE) has published the state’s seizures corresponding to this latest practice, highlighting the impact these reductions have had. And from 11,373 tonnes of fish marketed in 2020, it fell to just 9,547 tonnes a year later. Also, the situation will worsen as there is a new ten to twelve day outage in 2022.
Juan Mulet, secretary of the Alicante State Fishermen’s Federation, points out that the lower activity of purse seiners, which have their bases in foreign ports such as Murcia, Almería or Castellón, may also have contributed to this decrease. however, it is open to rapidly increasing fuel prices as well as the EU cuts causing serious damage to the sector. Without going any further this week, fisherman’s diesel is moving around 80 cents at a discount on the 20 cents bonus received from the Government, which Mulet emphasizes means no bills. “Anything to spend more than 70 cents will be ruined,” he complains.
Another noteworthy piece of information in this regard is the volume of turnover. 53.2 million € Despite the decrease in catches, it has reached levels very close to the previous year. The industry representative justifies this paradox in other areas such as the Bay of Biscay, such as the lower fishing volume or the size of the samples. “In any case – he deserves it – this figure is completely misleading, because we had to face the enormous increase in fuel prices.”
Pressure exerted by the industry itself and by the Ministry of Agriculture has led to a change in the EU compensation system, thereby reducing previously subsidies for biological closures and leading to compensation for reduction of fishing effort. In practice this means: 15% increase in funds from Europe.
However, the fleet continues to see this as insufficient. Rafael Torres, representative of the fishermen in Alicante, said: “The help is practically unnoticed because there is no fishing and everything from diesel to dry dock is more expensive“.
In any case, not all sectors are equally affected. Purse seiners, which are in the majority in Torrevieja, have no less interruptions and consume less than trawlers. “The matter is complex, but we can weather the storm for now,” says Pedro Carmona, the fraternity’s patron saint.
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.