Several trawlers moored at the Cartagena fishing port due to cuts by the European Union on fishing days. /
Sea professionals expect another cut of between five and ten days for next year, “something unaffordable”, says the sector
The fishermen of the brotherhoods of Cartagena, San Pedro del Pinatar, Mazarrón and Águilas will receive almost one million euros in aid from the Autonomous Community to cushion the losses that the sector is having after the cuts in days of work imposed by the Union European (EU). This was announced yesterday by the Minister of Water, Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, Environment and Emergencies, Antonio Luengo, in a meeting held with representatives of sea professionals at the Aguirre Palace in Cartagena.
It was a meeting prior to the Council of Fisheries Ministers of the European Union, which will be held in the coming days, where, in addition to discussing the future of the fishing fleet, the new restrictions that this body wants to impose on the sector will be announced. The “brutal”, in the opinion of the larger skippers, cuts in days of slaughter that have been established in the last three years to preserve some Mediterranean species, such as hake, red mullet, Norway lobster, white shrimp, red shrimp and the deep-sea shrimp, has left them at this time of the year hardly able to go out to earn a living in the sea.
A group of fishermen, this Friday, in the market of Cartagena. /
Before Europe began with the cuts, the average number of fishing days per year was 220, depending on each vessel. By applying the law, most of the boats have already stayed with an average of between 166 and 170 days, “something almost unaffordable,” explained the senior patron of the Cartagena Brotherhood, Bartolomé Navarro. That leaves them “on the brink of bankruptcy,” he added. For next year they expect another hack of between five and ten days.
Petitions to the Ministry
Luengo expressed “absolute support” for the complaints of the sea workers, as well as “the refusal to accept a new increase in stoppage days, since in just three years the working hours have been reduced by 30%.”
From the Ministry, Luengo explained, the Government of Spain has been asked for compensation mechanisms that respond to the economic damage suffered by the sector. Among other measures, “scientific endorsements were requested to establish the conditionality of the stops and, especially, where different segments are created to put an end to the generalization of the measures for all countries, which would allow differences depending on the state of the fleets. and fishing grounds,” said Luengo. The Autonomous Community will also allocate 1.5 million euros next year to modernize the markets, with the improvement of energy efficiency, the sales system and the facilities.
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