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Galicia calls for ban to reduce fishing effort
During the 2002 biological ban, the Fisheries
Council subsidised 30 days of the stoppage.
Photo:FIS
SPAIN
The Galician authorities want European Commission approval for a 45-day ban - similar to last year's temporary ban - in the Gran Sol fishing ground, where most of the fleet operates.
Fisheries Councillor Enrique López Veiga said a draft regulation will be sent to Brussels in the next few days for processing. He added that the ban was necessary to reduce fishing effort.
The Council agreed on the basis for the temporary ban with trade union representatives vessels owners' associations that operate in Gran Sol at a meeting last week.
La Voz de Galicia quotes sector representatives as saying that the ban was appropriate because circumstances this year are similar to those that prompted a temporary ban in 2002 to allow stocks in Gran Sol to recover.
However, Galician vessel owners asked the authorities to provide social security benefits for fishermen while they are unemployed, on a par with their colleagues in Cantabria and the Basque Country.
During the 2002 biological ban, the Fisheries Council subsidised 30 days of the stoppage, with funds from the Financial Instrument for Fisheries Guidance (FIFG), while vessel owners covered the remaining 15 days.
This biological ban was the only one approved last year by the community authorities, so the Galician goverment believes that this year the resolution will also be favourable. However, they acknowledged that the EU is not "willing" to authorise this measure, but steps will anyway "speed up", according to El Ideal Gallego.
Enrique López Veiga reported on the request to the EC at the Galician Parliament Fisheries Commission of the Galician Parliament, where he also discussed the total allowable catch (TAC) allocated to Spain by the EU.
He said the regional administration had agreed with central government to do whatever it takes to defend the rights of Galician fishermen at the Luxembourg Court - covering every possible legal aspect, including the relative stability criteria of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) reform.
By Patricia Diácono
FIS
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