Projects like rapansel, Promoted by the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) and the Shipowners Cooperative of the Port of Vigo (ARVI), These are clear examples of how sustainability can be advanced with basics like fishing gear. In five intense campaigns carried out between 2018-2022, Pescaberbés ThreeResearchers tested different types of networks with more or less new, risky and effective designs. To reduce bycatch without sacrificing your usual target fish volume. The aim, then, was to keep in the nets the large-sized hake or cockerel used by this vessel, which generally fished in Gran Sol waters, but to exclude the juvenile specimens and the rest of the species to which it was not dedicated.
The more selective a piece of equipment is, the lower its impact on the ecosystem in which it operates, and initiatives such as those described have been replicated across the continent to contribute to improving the situation of certain fishing populations. This is stated in the study “Improving selectivity in EU fisheries”, commissioned by the European Parliament and published this week. The European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) has supported 1,493 community vessels to increase their selectivity over the last decade.
Between 2014 and 2023, Brussels Committed an investment of 12.5 million, a financing benefited by ten member states -between them Spain–, although there are large differences in the amount allocated and the number of boats utilized. In fact, at the national level, close to 0.5 million people came to the country and benefited fifty ships with a committed investment of approximately 10,000 euros per ship. Around thirty purse purse purse vessels were the main beneficiaries, obtaining almost 80% of the funding (approximately 400,000 euros).
El resto de naciones que percibieron fondos vinculados a la mejora de la selectividad fueron Dinamarca, Polonia, Italia, Reino Unido, Estonia, Suecia, Francia, Portugal y Finlandia. En cuanto a las principales artes de pesca, el FEMP destinó 4,6 millones a artes activas –aquellas que se desplazan en el medio acuático, yendo al encuentro de los peces objetivo– y 6,4 millones a artes pasivas –aquellas que permanecen fijas en su posición hasta que son removidas–, constando el montante sobrante como indeterminado. Por tipos, las redes de enmalle y arrastre (3 millones respectivamente), las nasas (1,9) y los anzuelos y líneas (1,4 millones) fueron las que más se lucraron de la partida a cargo de Europa.
“La selectividad debería ser una parte integral del enfoque ecosistémico de la pesca”, expone el estudio, que insta a “definir claramente una mayor selectividad y las prioridades de sus objetivos”. En este sentido, subraya que es imprescindible “avanzar en el conocimiento sobre la pesca, el comportamiento de las especies y la ecología, promoviendo el intercambio internacional de datos y realizando una evaluación integrada de las medidas, contribuyendo a comprender la mejor manera de implementar la selectividad pesquera”. Y para lograrlo, considera crucial proporcionar soluciones adaptadas a cada especificidad, “realizando pruebas rigurosas para validar su efectividad”.