HALF of the 43 trawlers in the province of Almeria could disappear thanks to the fishing quotas recently agreed in Brussels.
“The situation is complicated,” said Carmen Crespo, head of the regional government’s agriculture and fisheries department, after bottom trawling in the western Mediterranean in 2022 was reduced by a further 6 percent.
“This is not a positive result, even with voluntary acceptance of selective measures allowing 2% more fishing days,” Crespo said after the EU’s Fisheries Council ignored Spain’s objections and decided to make reductions.
Crespo accompanied the Spanish Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Luis Planas to Brussels where, together with the Andalusian fishing industry associations Faape and Facope, they unsuccessfully pleaded their cause.
“This further 6 percent reduction follows a 17.5 percent reduction that affects many families who depend on trawling,” Crespo said after 40 hours of fruitless negotiations.
Supporting the Mediterranean proposals meant letting down the Spanish fishing industry and depriving it of its future and livelihood, Planas warned.
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