The Spanish Fisheries Confederation (Cepesca) noted the agreement of scientists from various regional fisheries organizations (RFMOs) on the fact that most deep water commercial species are around the maximum sustainable yield (MSY).
On a European Parliament (EP) hearing, the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) and the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) presented the report Deepwater Species: Towards Sustainable Fisheries. This study analyzes the proposal from the European Commission (EC) to manage deepwater fisheries resources in EU and international waters of the North-East Atlantic, in order to prohibit the use of bottom trawling.
Most of the research conducted by NAFO and ICES agree on the good condition most commercial deepwater species show.
At present, there is a substantial reduction of mortality of these resources, which is very near the MSY. This situation allows the stability of these stocks in growth.
Scientists emphasize and value the Spanish experience in the location of vulnerable marine ecosystems through oceanographic surveys conducted by experts of the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) and the Secretary General of Fisheries, in collaboration with Canada, the UK and Russia.
The IEO has already mapped more than 160,000 square kilometres of seabed throughout the Atlantic and identified vulnerable marine ecosystems. From the data obtained protective measures were agreed among the RFMOs.
Since 2007, in NAFO waters 18 areas were closed for fishing. Of these, seven are seamounts and 11, covering 8,500 square kilometres, were closed to trawling in order to protect lettuce corals.
But experts criticized the EC proposal to replace the entire trawl fleet and deep sea gill netting vessels, with longliners because they believe this will have a very negative impact for deep-sea sharks.
In this regard, Cepesca defended the need to preserve all vulnerable species and marine ecosystems, “not criminalizing or banning trawling gear, but analyzing the sea bottoms, identifying those that are vulnerable and leaving the sand and mud ones where the dragging footprint already is so the boats can continue fishing.
It is expected that in the coming weeks the Spanish fishing sector will express to all the government departments “the dire consequences that the EC proposal to regulate deep-sea species have for the trawl fleet community,” Cepesca said.
Cepesca Secretary General, Javier Garat, denounced they have found again “the pressure and lobbying efforts of environmentalists to destroy the fishing industry, in this case the trawl and deep sea gillnetting.”
He stressed, “Any logical scientific approach [is taken into account], let alone the social impact of the drastic and pointless measures they dictate to the Commission.”
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