The concessions/licenses for exploration of cockle shells in the Ria Formosa will have a term of six years, instead of just one, as until now, stipulated in a decree of law issued by the Government on 18 August.
A measure that the Union of Fisheries Workers of the South (STPS), which has long called for a change of regime, says it “values”, but whose contours are not entirely clear, in the view of the union and its associated fishing professionals.
To remove "a set of doubts and questions that arise", the STPS addressed several questions to the Government. The unionists' idea is to understand, exactly, the changes that are imposed by the new decree of law, while at the same time posing some challenges, to deepen some aspects of the legislation.
In a letter addressed to the Minister of the Sea, the union asks how the licensing process for the nurseries will now unfold. In the same vein, the ministry is asked if the intention is to put into practice the application of the licensing of the current nurseries through auction.
Another question that remains with seafood professionals is whether licensing becomes automatic, from year to year, "or will the current practice of nurserymen having to apply for renewal in June of each year will be maintained of the licenses of their nurseries?».
"Is the government available to consider the possibility of reducing the value of the HRT – Water Waste Tax, currently in force, as demanded by professionals in the seafood sector and by this union?", ask the representatives of the seafood producers.
«This is a sector of activity that is already very undercapitalized and increasingly economically weak. There are more than many problems and the mortality of bivalve molluscs is increasingly a sad reality, whose cause lies in the sources of pollution that still exist in the Ria Formosa and which constitute the number one public enemy in this sector and a serious brake on its insurance and harmonious development, which must be put to an end», defends the STPS.
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