Vigo Shipowners’ Cooperative (ARVI) on Monday called on the United Nations (UN) to recognize “areas with high dependence on fisheries” in regions of developed countries such as Spain.
This claim is contained in a document submitted by ARVI to the Government and the European Commission (EC) on the occasion of the UN Oceans Conference, which is held this week in New York. The objective of the meeting is to seek solutions to pollution and promote the sustainable use of the seas.
According to ARVI president Jose Antonio Suarez-Llanos, the definition of a “zone depending on fishing” has value in debates such as the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
“In developed countries there are many areas that still depend to a large extent on primary sectors such as fisheries, whose disappearance would probably speak of social, economic and cultural repercussions of great importance,” notes ARVI document.
Suárez Llano explained that, so far the UN has only included artisanal fleet communities in Africa and Asia: “We say that Galicia, Andalusia and the Basque Country are also highly dependent [on fishing],” it stressed.
According to ARVI, in those Spanish areas the disappearance of fishing would have great “economic and cultural repercussions”.
The report of the cooperative mentions the case of Galicia and data showing that fishing “maintains inter-industrial relations of a structural nature”, which means that 91 per cent of economic activities depend on the sea-industry sector.
Organized by the governments of Sweden and Fiji, until Friday the forum brings together hundreds of senior officials, members of the scientific community, institutions and NGOs at UN headquarters.
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