The Junta de Andalucía filed a complaint against the distribution carried out by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food of the additional quota of Iberian sardine obtained from the Portuguese stock exchange because it guarantees that “punishes” the fleet of purse seiners in the Gulf of Cádiz. There are barely 420 tonnes out of the more than 2,700 available, which is why the Andalusian government denounces that the proportional distribution established in the agreements with the sector is not respected.
The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, Ramon Fernández-Pachecoregretted that the government “ignores” the allegations presented to the distribution project by organizations such as the Andalusian Federation of Fishermen’s Corporations (FACOPE), the Andalusian Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (FAAPE) and the Andalusian Association of Women in the Sector of fishing (ANDMUPES), in which they already warned against “catastrophe” that it represents for Andalusia.
For Fernández-Pacheco, this resolution demonstrates “lack of sensitivity” towards a sector which “deserves more respect and more reduction in quotas, production or prices”.
Likewise, he denounces that this decision It’s taken at the “worst moment”because “he forgets the critical situation that the sector is going through in the Gulf of Cádiz due to the possible 54% reduction in anchovy quotas”.
It should be remembered that the fleet of purse seiners in the Gulf of Cádiz lives mainly from catches of anchovies and sardines, This is why the Andalusian government warns that if, in addition to this “ridiculous quota” for sardines, the reduction in anchovy rates proposed by the European Commission materializes, “there would remain more than 80 boats, immediately moored at the port “. be an economic and social disaster.
In this sense, the Ministry once again conveys to the sector “the full support of the Andalusian Government” and the commitment to “speaker” of their demands.
Likewise, they emphasize that they remain “very much awaiting” the decisions taken in Europe on the anchovy, the provisional quota for which ended on Monday. “This shows the lack of foresight of the Commission and also the lack of knowledge of the a strategic sectorwhich cannot be the case today without knowing whether or not they can go fishing, with personnel and marketing contracts pending,” he criticized.