The head of Spain’s General Secretariat of Fisheries of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment (MAGRAMA), Andrés Hermida, highlighted the achievements made during the Council of Fisheries Ministers of the European Union (EU), especially the total allowable catches (TACs) and quotas for different fishery resources in the Atlantic and the North Sea for next year.
Spain obtained a quota increase “that will mean additional 10,000 tonnes for the fisheries sector and estimated additional revenues of EUR 20 million,” he stressed.
Hermida explained that out of the 39 stocks that are interesting to the Spanish fleet, “14 has been managed to be raised, 14 continue unchanged as in 2014 and 11 of them have been reduced.”
The TACs and quotas were established based on management or recovery plans and to achieving a sustainable yield (MSY) by 2015 – wherever possible and at the latest by 2020 –, as it was defined by the new Common Fisheries Policy (CFP).
The results achieved “pose a reward for the efforts made towards sustainable management and rigorous monitoring of the fishery,” added Hermida.
The MAGRAMA emphasized that for Gran Sol and Community waters, Spain achieved an increase of hake quota of 11 per cent, representing a total of 25,471 tonnes.
For stocks in EU waters of monkfish and megrim, Spain managed to maintain the same overall TAC in 2015 as in 2014, consolidating the rises of 2013.
A 10 per cent increase in anchovy and a 70 per cent rise in horse mackerel in the Gulf of Cadiz have been highlighted in the national fishing grounds.
With regard to the fishery of the Bay of Biscay, Spanish fishermen have managed to significantly soften the reductions in the southern megrim, ultimately achieving a reduction of 39 per cent of the TAC.
Hermida also recalled that theresources available for commitments from the European Maritime Fisheries Fund (EMFF) for the period from 2014 to 2020 amounted to EUR 1,161.6 million.
In addition, he said that the aim will be to achieve “sustainable growth in fisheries, aquaculture, industry and marketing sectors, allocating more than 70 per cent of their financial resources to this end.”
The Government aims to promote sustainable and competitive fisheries, based on three key pillars: the balance between capacity and fishing opportunities, updating the fleet and the protection of fisheries resources.
Furthermore, it will seek to promote sustainable and competitive aquaculture and processing and marketing; and to collect the data needed to enhance the contribution of scientific knowledge, by creating new structures.
Hermida also announced a programme for seabed exploration and data processing, which will boost the mapping and marine bathymetric data gathering and management system.
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