Government officials and representatives of the artisanal fisheries sector have agreed on the management of a bluefin tuna quota allocated to this section of the fleet to get the maximum possible use, taking into account the existing rules on this fortuitous and accidental fishery.
The Director General of Fisheries Management of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Carlos Larrañaga, with the coordination of the National Federation of Fishermen (FNCP), chaired a technical meeting with representatives of the federation, other provincial coastal areas of the Mediterranean and CEPESCA to plan the bluefin tuna fishery for the artisanal fleet of the fishing grounds in 2016.
Mediterranean artisanal fleet has a total of 50 tonnes of allocated bluefin tuna quota, from the so-called working capital. Moreover, the fishing activity can only be performed as incidental or accidental, with a maximum of 5 per cent of bluefin tuna per fishing trip and all other species regulated by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT / ICCAT), measured by weight or number, based on the capacity limits established internationally.
Therefore, during the meeting it was agreed that the allocated amount will be distributed proportionally among the different provinces, based on the number of ships to homeport in each and authorised according to the Operative Fishing Fleet Census (CFPO).
Following Community and international obligations for this fishery, a total of 550 labels will be distributed, including the above criteria, to tag the captured specimens, considering an average weight of about 90 kilograms per specimen.
The specific allocation per vessel, in a number equal to or less than the availability of labels, will be held by the different provinces, with the possibility of concentrating the allocation in fewer ships than the assigned labels for greater profitability of the fishery for the authorized vessels.
In addition, it was agreed to establish a fishing period suited to each province according to resource availability, as well as the designation of at least two ports in each province for downloading the caught fish.
With these conditions and the reached consensus, the goal is to achieve the greatest possible use of 50 tonnes allocated to this fleet sector, within the possibilities set by the current regulations for the fortuitous and accidental catch.
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