Portugal's Siege Fishing Producers' organizations want to see the sardine fishing quota increased by 30 percent in 2016, rather than substantially reduced, as defended this week by the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES).
The fishermen rely on data presented by the Portuguese Institute of the Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) and the Secretary of State for the Sea, which show that the sardine stock has recovered between 2014 and 2015.
A few days after the sardine fishing boats from various parts of the country, including the Algarve, have stopped going out to sea, as the catch limit has been reached in their areas., the National Association of Siege Fishing Producers' Organizations (Anopcerco) argued that, contrary to what has been made public, an increase in the quota will not jeopardize the management of the stock of this species.
Thus, they propose a 30 percent increase in the sardine fishing quota, to 16,9 thousand tons, as early as next year. In 2015, the quota was set at 13 thousand tons, The Algarve has a slice of 436 tonnes [between June and October 31], achieved in the last few days, which is why the fishing boats in the siege of Portimão and Olhão will not go out to fish for sardines in the next nine months.
The value of the quota requested by Portuguese fishermen is diametrically opposed to that presented as advisable in an opinion by ICES, which recommended that the total allowable catches of sardines in Iberian waters, in 2016, should not exceed 1587 tons, 90 percent less than in 2015.
Those responsible for the Portuguese siege fleet argue, for their part, that "the first and most interested parties in the preservation of the sardine stock in Portuguese waters are our fishermen" and that their proposals are "fair, sensible and responsible". And they justify why.
«The Secretary of State for the Sea informed, on the 16th of July, in response to the non-binding opinion of the ICES released on the same day, that the definition of a limit of 30.000 tons for 2016 would still allow the growth of the sardine stock by 2%. In other words, even if a catch limit were defined for 2016, which was much higher than that defined for 2015, this increase would not jeopardize the state of the sardine stock, even allowing its improvement», illustrates Anopcerco.
This figure can be related to the «very gratifying data for all Portuguese sardine fishermen» presented by IPMA, pointing out that, «from 2014 to 2015, available sardine biomass increased by 34,2 percent on the Portuguese coast».
"We recognize, as we have always done, that it is necessary to proceed with a balanced and intelligent management of the sardine resource and that, knowing the importance of the ecological parameters and the climatic parameters that determine the variations in the size of the sardine stock, it should be assumed for 2016 a position that, on the one hand, maintains precaution and prudence in relation to the level of what can be captured, but, on the other, meets our legitimate aspirations to be able to slightly increase the possibilities of capture in 2016", defended the association .
The Producers' Organizations expressed, moreover, "the full availability to continue and participate in the national sardine management model", but warn that "any other management solution, namely the integration in the TAC's and Quotas system of the European Union will be totally unacceptable and rejected by all of us».
Anopcerco has no doubt about the “justice” of its proposals and warns that “any solution that does not meet them will never be understood by our fishermen and will generate waves of protest and protest whose dimension and amplitude we are not able to foresee” .
Comments