Brave policies for sustaining fisheries in the Mediterranean sea
Spain has invited the countries bordering the Mare Nostrum and the European Government to take “bold steps” to promote sustainable fisheries management in those waters, which impact the benefit of fishing communities. His thesis argues for tighter regulation of the effort exerted by recreational fishing, the establishment of new protected areas and the increase in the reduction effort aimed at the most sensitive fleets.
The Secretary General of Fisheries of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Andrés Hermida, participated today at the Ministerial Conference on Fisheries in the Mediterranean, which was held in Brussels, where invited participants Mediterranean countries and European Commission to take “bold steps” to promote sustainable fisheries management in those waters, which impact the benefit of fishing communities.
Hermida has stated in its intervention measures taken in Spain for the sustainable management from the Venice Declaration, now 13 years ago, among which include data collection and stock assessment in the Mediterranean, which has advanced scientific knowledge populations.
He also stressed the implementation of a comprehensive plan of specific management, resulting from the entry into force of the Council Regulation on technical measures in the Mediterranean, and the implementation, since 2006, a series of tending legal tools to recovery of resources, regulating for each mode and group of species, such as temporary closures, reduced activity period or fixing daily catch limits.
Some actions, said, they have failed to avoid reducing biomass nearly all species of commercial interest, as is found in scientific reports.
Proposals for sustainable management
It has therefore proposed a number of measures that could help correct the negative trend, and to move towards the goal of sustainable management.
Among them has raised the possibility of establishing both temporary tighter regulation of the effort exerted by recreational fishing, setting a limitation of days, areas as well as the obligation to identify catches and the establishment of new fisheries protection zones, and permanent, to promote and safeguard spawning areas, nursery and protection of breeding of the endangered species.
It has also proposed an increase in the reduction effort aimed at the most sensitive fleets, the development of financial measures to encourage permanent cessations in fishing patterns more problematic, the establishment of temporary biological rest subsidized by zones and fishing methods and trade measures to encourage responsible consumption and better use of the species, in order to increase yields.
Complementarily, the Secretary General has suggested the desirability of promoting studies for designing marketing projects linked to the proposed measures, and intended to obtain a higher yield, which must not necessarily be linked to the volume of catches.
Joint implementation of measures
To achieve effectiveness in the implementation of all these measures, Hermida has stressed the need for joint and severally applied throughout the geographical area which is the Mediterranean fishing grounds.
If measures are not respected by all fishermen who live on the same resource, regardless of what country’s flag flying its boat, we will not succeed, he pointed out the secretary general.
It has also raised the need for all actions are channeled through the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (GFCM), as set out in the Declaration itself, and that joint inspection missions to be strengthened, to ensure that fishing vessels are complying make the rules agreed by all.
For this reason, it indicated Hermida, we hope these management proposals targeted by Spain, or similar, can start being and discussion at the next annual session of the GFCM.
The Secretary General concluded his speech also pointed the importance of working to determine the impact that other factors such as pollution of the marine environment, overpopulation of the coastal strip or climate change can have on the state of marine resources, and the need to strengthen the fight against Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated.
I have to express with satisfaction that this has been a priority for Spain in recent years, and have made significant efforts to hopefully contribute to the eradication of this scourge, has concluded Hermida.
Source: MAGRAMA
