Peniche, Portugal, Dec. 13, 2024 (Lusa) - Fishermen are against this year's closure of the sardine capture without exhausting the annual catch limit allocated to Portugal and accuse the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries of not listening to the sector.
"It wasn't agreed with the sector. We were currently fishing only sardines in some areas of the country, which have been extremely highly valued and sent to supply the Portuguese canning industry, so there was no need to have stopped before the quota was exhausted and the possibilities of keeping the Portuguese fleet active," Humberto Jorge, president of the National Association of Fishing Organisations (ANOP), which represents the sector, told Lusa. He explained that the annual catch limit allocated to Portugal in 2024 had been exhausted, but 2,700 tonnes remained from 2023 when the fishermen did not exhaust their quota.
Questioned by Lusa, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries clarified in writing that on 24 September, at a meeting with the Sardine Monitoring Committee, "the sector was consulted and informed of the forecast closure of the sardine fishery on 30 November", based on the scientific opinion of the Portuguese Institute for the Sea and Atmosphere on the need to stop at that time for reasons of the species' "biological cycle."
According to the government, "as the overall catch limit decided by Portugal and Spain within the framework of shared sardine management was expected to be reached in the short term and considering it appropriate to protect the resource during the main reproduction season, on 26 November the Sardine Monitoring Committee was consulted in writing, via the Directorate-General for Natural Resources, Safety and Maritime Services (DGRM), with a proposal to close the fishery on 30 November".
"After hearing the Sardine Monitoring Committee, and because of the small margin of quota that still exists, the authority decided to authorise the catching of sardines until 4 December." It issued an order to close the fishery after that date.
ANOP Cerco said that it was unaware of IPMA's opinion and opposed the closure at committee meetings.
The association attributed the decision to exchange catch quotas with Spain for various fish species.
"The sardine and purse seine fishermen of this country would like the government to do everything it can to ensure that the fishing opportunities allocated are there for us for a very simple reason: not only because of what the sector has been through and the difficulties it has had in recovering the sardine resource but also because it is a sector that has a closed season of three to five months a year and should deserve more respect from the authorities," criticised ANOP Cerco.
The association accused the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries of not collaborating with the sector, a criticism to which the Ministry did not respond.
"Dialogue doesn't seem to me to be a fundamental issue for the Ministry, nor does it even try to understand the sector's reasons to manage, in this case, fishing opportunities fairly and rigorously," said Humberto Jorge.
According to the leader, all he needed to do was "go to Docapesca and see how much sardines were being sold each week and talk to the Portuguese canning industry buying them, to get an idea of the damage" to the whole industry.
The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) recommended that sardine fishing not exceed 40,073 tonnes next year.
"The opinion is positive because it demonstrates the good state of the resource as a result of the sector's efforts and, with the calculations that have been made, the quota could go up to 50,000 tonnes", higher than this year's 44,450 for Portugal and Spain, reacted the president of ANOP Cerco.
Taking into account the "high market expectations" of the canning industry, as well as the certification of the species, the sector has already warned that it will "totally oppose any kind of exchange of fishing opportunities without the interests of Portuguese fishermen being listened to, as has happened this year".
The annual catch limit set for Portugal for 2024 was 29,560 tonnes. As of 11 November, 82% had been used, 24,250 tonnes, as the Secretary of State for Fisheries, Cláudia Monteiro de Aguiar, told parliament.
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