The Government asks for the Occidental Mediterranean fishing management plan to recognize insularity

Agriculture, Fishing and Environment councilor, accompanied by General Fishing director, Antoni M. Grau, has participated in the conference «El futuro de la pesca en el Mediterráneo occidental», celebrated in the European Parliament.

Simonet has expressed that “the current normative does not adjust to the reality of the Balearic Islands, since in an archipelago where trawlers are the ones who have a wider fishing activity and add fresh fish to the civilization, and the disappearance of only one of these boats would have a wide impact in other places of the Mediterranean”.

Agriculture, Fishing and Environment councilor, Joan Simonet, accompanied by Fishing general director, Antoni M. Grau, has participated today, June 25th, in Brussels in the act «El futuro de la pesca en el Mediterráneo Occidental», celebrated in the European Parliament, and has pointed out the urgency of the Occidental Mediterranean fishing management plan to recognize the insularity to guarantee the continuity of the field. Simonet has intervened in the round table, regarding the regional view of the social and economic impact of fishing in the coastal communities of the Spanish and French Mediterranean, along with other representatives of Mediterranean regions. The councilor has reminded that the European plan has reduced down to 130 days in which the trawlers can sail at sea. In this sense, he has pointed out that the “current normative does not adjust to the reality of the Balearic Islands, given the fact that most of the fishing activity of the archipelago falls on 30 trawlers that are in the archipelago”.

In addition, he has added that “they are the ones who ensure between a 60 and a 70% of supplies of local and fresh fish for the civilization and economically maintain the social structures, such as the fishmongers’ guilds; therefore, if they disappear, so will the fishing activity”. In addition, the councilor has said, “the disappearance of one of this boats would have a wider impact than in any other place of the Mediterranean; to avoid it and guarantee a future for fishing in the islands, it is necessary to change the regulation”.

On the other hand, Simonet has stated that the consumption of local fish goes beyond its economic value, as it is tied to a long-standing gastronomic and cultural tradition. He also took the opportunity to highlight the value of trawl boats that use traditional fishing techniques.

Likewise, the minister reiterated that “the measure adopted by the European Union to reduce fishing days does not directly respond to the poor state of marine resources, but rather to a very strict interpretation of predictive models based on data from scientific surveys.” In fact, according to Simonet, “fishermen in the Balearic Islands are witnessing how the resources are recovering.”

Simonet also emphasized the need for the Western Mediterranean fisheries management plan to move towards a regionalized management of fishing grounds, based on the segmentation of the Mediterranean by GSAs. This measure, he affirmed, “would allow management to be adapted to the ecological and socio-economic particularities of each area of our sea.”

During his speech, the minister also recalled that in the bilateral meeting he held last week with the EU Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans, Costas Kadis, it was announced that there will be no new cuts this year in the number of days vessels are allowed to go out fishing, an outcome the regional government had repeatedly requested.

Additionally, Minister Simonet explained that the Balearic Islands are a leading region in marine conservation at the European and Mediterranean levels. Currently, over 40% of the Balearic Sea is protected under the Natura 2000 network. Moreover, 21% of its internal waters, totaling 67,000 hectares, are part of marine fishing reserves. He highlighted that this is possible thanks to the support and involvement of the fishing sector, which is part of the decision-making process. In this regard, he stated that “co-management of fisheries is a benchmark in the European context.”