The Calp municipal plenary session puts on the table the rejection of the proposal of the Directorate General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE) of the European Commission to reduce fishing days by 79% for next year, which will mean that each trawler will be able to fish an average of 27 days a year.
All municipal groups have supported an institutional declaration in defence of the fishing sector that will be debated in the December plenary session. The text analyses the difficult situation of the fishing sector in Calp and by extension of the entire province and the Spanish Mediterranean, due to the continuous limitations imposed by the European Union. Now this situation is further aggravated by the proposal
The document states that "if the current regulations that allow trawlers to fish only 125 days a year already make it practically unviable for any company, if this new proposal is approved, it would almost certainly sign the death certificate of our trawler fishing sector."
On the other hand, the draft resolution of the Subdirectorate General of National Fishing Grounds and Waters of the European Union establishing catch limits for the Mediterranean red shrimp would mean that bottom trawlers will only be able to catch up to 50 kg of red shrimp per week (10 kilos per day from Monday to Friday), with proportional adjustments for incomplete weeks, with a deadline until December 31, 2024 or until the available quota is exhausted. If the usual expenses of a fishing boat when it goes out to catch red shrimp amount to 1.200 euros per day, obviously the accounts do not add up.
The institutional declaration considers that the European Union's fisheries policy does not meet the objectives of social, economic and environmental balance because it generates a reduction in jobs and a loss of quality of life for workers' families and because it prevents companies from obtaining profitability and the restrictions end up condemning them to disappearance. It also does not meet environmental balance criteria because the studies carried out are not appropriate to the type of vessel, the fishing grounds or the species.
The document states that "The European proposal means the death of the fishing sector. In fact, data from the Fishermen's Guilds in our province estimate that more than 50% of jobs in the sector have been lost in the last ten years."
The statement also claims that the EU does not make public the conclusions of the Multiannual Fisheries Plan and, therefore, it is considered that there is no data to decide on these cuts. It is also not known how the calculation of the kilos allocated to each vessel has been made.
For all these reasons, all municipal groups of the Calp City Council agree to request the European Commission not to approve the proposal of the General Directorate of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE) consisting of a 79% reduction in fishing days.
They urge the Spanish Government to insist on defending the Mediterranean fishing sector and not allow a further reduction in the quota of working days per year, which is already very low at present. They also ask the Spanish Government to draw up a Management Plan for the fishing sector, evaluating its resources and seeking the sustainability of the sector.
The Alicante Corporation is calling for the creation of a network of scientists and members of the fishing sector to study and research fishing situations in the Mediterranean, involving the Universities of the province of Alicante.
