Junta against EU Fishing Cuts

The Junta’s Board for Agriculture & Fishing rejects the EU management plan for fishing in the Western Mediterranean.

“We understand that a global plan for fishing in the Mediterranean has to be drawn up, but not that Andalucía should be the hardest hit,” said the new Head of the board, Carmen Crespo, adding that “Almería, Granada and Málaga are being hardest hit whilst Cataluña and Valencia are not.”

She pointed out that the Andalusian fishing fleet has already been cut down from 209 fishboats to only 92 since the year 2000, as it is.

“You cannot ask for the Andalusian trawling sector be reduced by a further 10% by 2020 and by another 30% in the following four years,” she said, after the European Parliament voted in favour of this move.

Editorial comment: in the 80s Spain had the second largest fishing fleet in the world; the largest belonged to the now defunct USSR. The EU, at Spain’s request, enters into deals with Morocco for access to its fishing grounds in exchange for importing Moroccan tomatoes into the EU. The fact is – and it is inexcapable – that Spain has fished out its own waters and is busy doing the same further abroad.

The bottom line is, if there are ever fewer fishes to be caught then the sector must shrink with it.

(News: Andalucia)

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