Spain’s Secretary General of Fisheries, Andres Hermida argues that although the situation of overfishing and reduction of biomass is maintained, the potential recovery of the stocks of the Mediterranean remains still very high. In his opinion, this indicates that there is still room for manoeuvre to correct the imbalance produced in the Mediterranean.
Speaking at a seminar on the state of fish stocks in the Mediterranean, held in Catania, Italy, the Secretary General of Fisheries reported yesterday that Spain has adopted necessary measures such as the development and adoption of a Comprehensive Management Plan for trawling, purse seine and minor arts, covering the entire Spanish Mediterranean fishery.
He explained that it was necessary for the preparation of this Plan to describe biological reference points consistent with the aim of obtaining the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) for the stocks.
To do this, in addition to the objective of reducing fleet capacity, this Plan sets out a number of technical measures affecting aspects as selectivity and size of the arts, the possibility of establishing temporary closures, the reduction of activity periods, the creation of restricted fishing areas, the setting of minimum sizes, the establishment of daily catch limits and the protection of the coastal strip by setting depths and minimum distances allowed for some activities.
Hermida noted that despite the measures taken, the monitoring reports prepared by the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) tend to confirm the increasing overexploitation and reduced biomass. In this situation, the IEO has recommended a reduction in fishing mortality and consequently the fishing effort.
Likewise, the Secretary General pointed out that according to the report of the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF), this situation is not unique to the Spanish Mediterranean, but affects Mediterranean populations as a whole. Therefore, he considers it necessary to adopt additional measures to manage this fishery, to reach the achievement of MSY.
In this context, Hermida said that the General Secretariat of Fisheries held numerous technical meetings with the fishing sector in the Mediterranean with the aim of raising awareness of the Common Fisheries Policy and, at the same time explaining the new policy management and conservation. These meetings have also been useful to study alternative measures to help the recovery of fisheries, such as the reduction of fleet capacity or activity length, or measures relating to the characteristics of the arts.
According to Hermida, the application of additional measures must always take into account the potential impact on social and economic stability of businesses and workers in the fishing sector.
Regarding the state of the resources, it should also be considered other factors, such as pollution, affecting the state of stocks in the entire Mediterranean basin and which have not been evaluated in the scientific reports under discussion.
Finally, Hermida stressed that to ensure the effectiveness of any policy of regeneration, all the riparian countries have to be involved, and thus avoid any discriminatory treatment of EU fleets.
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