The 4 main organizations (A Guardia, Burela-Lugo, Marín and Vigo) make a "call for help" before the Central Administration. On the one hand, the problems to commercialize the shortfin mako since its inclusion in Annex II of CITES, and on the other, the historical drop in prices of the quenlla, its main species, together with the instability in the demand for products, make a waterway in the economic viability of this fleet.

 

 

The situation is a "red alert". Most companies will not be able to last many months in this situation. Although the situation is global, the impact is more serious on the North Atlantic fleet due to its dependence on the quenlla, which represents an average of 75% of catches and 60% of income, but with prices in free fall, every day it is more difficult to survive for the 90 ships that work here.

 

Demand has disappeared or is very unstable, and prices are suffering a historic decline. As an example, in August the quenlla was already sold below € 0.30 / kg. Comparing prices in just one year, the price differences in the quenlla are more than 52%, and 17% in swordfish. Median earnings have fallen more than 30%. The shipowners are unanimous: "with these prices, this fleet will not last long, it is impossible to survive." If you hit any operating account, if you hit a 30% hack, in a few months companies will decapitalize and the situation becomes unsustainable.

 

 

 

All fleets must comply with the guidelines of the Regional Fisheries Organizations, which by international mandate are responsible for the management of fish stocks. Its recommendations affect all fishing countries and their corresponding fleets. In the case of the Atlantic, this multinational organization is ICCAT. Under its guidelines, the Spanish fleet complies with the exploitation rules of the different species, especially the shortfin mako, as well as the assumption of a National Observation Plan, which has implied a significant economic cost for companies and organizations, bringing physical observers or electronic on board, and providing data on the main species and fishing effort. The Spanish fleet is an example of compliance with these ICCAT fishing guidelines.

 

But the international trade of shortfin mako (SMA by its FAO code) has suffered a great complication since November 2019, after its inclusion in Annex II of CITES. Now, in addition to the Ministry of Fisheries, the Ministries of Ecological Transition (MITECO) and of Commerce (MINECO) intervene in its commercialization.

 

 

The lack of coordination and lack of understanding between the different Administrations is causing unsustainable economic consequences for the fleet.

The 4 surface longline organizations have been demanding for several months a solution to end the administrative blockade that is preventing the commercialization of this species, a situation that particularly affects the Galician fleet and is worsening the economic crisis that these small companies are suffering. because of COVID.

 

There are tons of porbeagle processed and stored in the refrigerators, which however cannot be sold, due to the administrative blockade caused by the Ministry of Ecological Transition, which has decided, in a totally unilateral way, and against the Fisheries criteria, to restrict the commercialization of this species, and allowing the international market to be supplied with other fleets that paradoxically had not habitually fished this species, and had not implemented the management measures that the Spanish fleet had imposed on itself.

 

The fleet considers that this excess of zeal and the lack of coordination between the different departments of the same administration, do nothing but harm them because this does not happen in the rest of the countries. And their efforts to expose the sustainability of the fishery, their efforts to get certified, or the launch of a global FIP are of little use. The rest of the countries are taking over the market that is taken away from this fleet since all are commercializing the porbeagle, except the Spanish fleet. Some shipowners wonder if Spain can afford the closure of so many companies, simply due to administrative incompetence.