Following lengthy negotiations between the European Union ministers, a unanimous agreement was reached early this Wednesday morning establishing that Fishermen will be able to carry out trawling in the Mediterranean "almost on the same days" if they do so in a sustainable way. The Brussels limitation of just 27 days a year will therefore not be imposed.
In a statement, the Council said that "as regards the Western Mediterranean, ministers agreed to reduce fishing effort by trawlers by 66% in Spanish and French waters and by 38% in French and Italian waters in order to protect demersal stocks, taking into account also the socio-economic impact on the fleets."
The European Commissioner for Fisheries, Costas Kadis, explained that fishermen can benefit from a “substantial” increase in the number of days they spend at sea “if they commit to selectivity”, that is, using fishing methods that select the desired fish and sizes. They must also commit to closing areas of the sea to fishing and to using “innovative” fishing tools.
In total there are 12 measures that, if a boat complies with all of them, it will be able to fish "the same days or almost the same days that it fished this year"For example, Kadis said that if a boat uses 15-millimeter mesh under certain conditions, it can get 50 percent more fishing days.
To meet these requirements, the Fisheries Commissioner explained, funding for fishing vessels will be provided by the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund.
What do the fishermen of Marina Alta think about this agreement?
From the Fishermen's Guild of Xàbia They report that the minister has presented them with a document - not yet final - "very confusing and cumbersome" for which they request clarification. A feeling that is also present in the Fishermen's Guild of Dénia"Regarding the 79% reduction, if all the boats change their mesh size to 45 in coastal fishing and 50 in deep fishing, 80% could be recovered, so we would be left with the same number of days as last year," they explain about the text received from Xàbia.
"We are willing to make all the changes they indicate, such as enlarging the mesh, which entails an expense and losing the smallest shrimp, the size 3, which will hardly be left, as long as we maintain the same number of working days that we had this year and last," Rafael Serrat, president of the Xàbia Fishermen's Guild, told this newspaper.
However, The problem that fishermen point out is that these changes must occur throughout the fleet."For these proposals to become a reality, we must all agree with the Mediterranean and be united. If only one community says it does not accept the changes, it will not be possible," adds Serrat.
"Another option is that there are sections depending on the percentage of ships that make that change and there are other measures that can compensate to continue reaching that 79% that they want to reduce us from," they add from Xàbia.
Fishermen are planning a meeting with the Mediterranean fleet on Saturday 14 December to jointly decide on the next steps following these new EU measures.
