Secretary General of Fisheries, Alicia Villauriz, with representatives of the fishing sector.
New working group will analyze possible changes to mackerel fishery management model
SPAIN
Friday, April 12, 2019, 01:10 (GMT + 9)
The Secretary General of Fisheries, Alicia Villauriz, met with representatives of the autonomous communities and of the trawling, purse seine and other fishing gear sector of the northwestern Cantabrian, to address the development of the coastal mackerel this year.
As reported by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, the meeting achieved its main objective: the creation of a Working Group to analyze the situation of mackerel fishery in light of the changes that have occurred in recent years and, not least important, of the entry into force, this year 2019, of the landing obligation. This has determined the need to focus the mackerel fishing seasons differently than has been the case until now, especially in the segment of fishing gear different from trawling and purse seine.
Secretary General of Fisheries, Alicia Villauriz and the mackerel group
The Working Group, made up of representatives of the General Secretariat of Fisheries, the Autonomous Communities and the sector involved in trawling, purse seiners and minor arts, volanta, rasco and longline, will proceed to analyze in depth the alternatives possible to the current management model of mackerel.
To this end, the Working Group set up this Thursday plans to hold monographic meetings on different aspects that affect the development of this fishery, paying special attention to the dependence of the different fleet segments that this species captures.
Mackerel fishermen unloading the fresh catch
The main objective is for this Group to complete its mission with the preparation of a report with recommendations to be submitted to the General Secretariat of Fisheries, for its consideration and eventual proposal for a modification of the management regulations in the future.
Evolution of the mackerel fishery
Since the beginning of this century, the mackerel fishery has evolved significantly. While in the initial years the average price of mackerel in Spain did not exceed 35 cents kg, today exceeds 1.20 EUR/kg.
Mackerel has gone from being a resource without much interest for an important part of the fleet, to be the crucial element of the activity of the fishing fleet of the northwestern Cantabrian in the first half of each year, with implications for all fleets and communities autonomous.
Fishing vessels protesting for the mackerel situation. (EFE-Agro)
This evolution is also reflected in the number of boats, which has increased notably in the last 15 years.
The changes produced in recent years, and in particular, the ban on discards in force since January 1, make it necessary to analyze if the exissting system can continue to function as designed, or if it is necessary to propose and agree on changes in it. To this end, the diagnosis of this Working Group, whose next meeting will be held in June, is of great importance, to analyze the reality of the mackerel fishery.
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