The Andalusian fishing sector has accused Europe of abandoning Mediterranean trawl fishing after a meeting held in Malaga. This was stated by José María Gallart, president of the Andalusian Federation of Fishing Associations and vice-president of Cepesca for the Mediterranean and Gulf of Cadiz. The Andalusian fishing sector specified eight points in its demands to Brussels, starting by demanding that decisions be made based on solid science. “The Commission is legislating with incomplete data and methodologies questioned by its own scientific community. An entire fleet cannot be sacrificed based on reports that do not even enjoy technical consensus,” says Gallart.
For the sector, trawl fishing is strategic and they also consider it vital to be able to recover an average of 160-180 working days, in order to maintain the activity and the capacity to supply fresh fish. “Decisions made from offices thousands of kilometers away are ruining entire families who have been fishing responsibly for generations,” stated the vice-president of Cepesca, José María Gallart. Likewise, the sector demands an end to the dual control regime applied to red shrimp, which combines effort and quota limitations.
Finally, the fishermen demand actions and not empty promises, and trust in the intervention of the Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans, Costas Kadis, so that the European Commission corrects its course and does not go down in history for letting Mediterranean fishing die. “The Andalusian sector is fully committed to sustainability and the responsible management of resources. But it demands reciprocity and coherence from the European institutions,” assured José María Gallart. Andalusia has 115 trawlers and 13 fishing hubs, which support more than 17,000 families. In Andalusia, the trawl fishing fleet has gone from being able to fish 230 days a year to just 130.
