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The Andalusian Government has demonstrated its commitment to the venus clam fishermen by expanding the quota to the maximum possible (1,300 tonnes)
Andalusia promises early implementation of venus clam management plan
SPAIN
Wednesday, May 15, 2019, 20:00 (GMT + 9)
The Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Sustainable Development of Andalusia, Carmen Crespo, reaffirmed her commitment to put the first venus clam (chirla - Chamelea gallina) management plan early, in order to ensure the long-term sustainability of this mollusc.
During a visit to the fish market of Punta Umbría, the head of the fisheries ministry had the opportunity to meet the demands and suggestions of the fishermen and, at the same time, to explain the lines of work established for the General Directorate under the Ministry. 
"Our intention is to offer the maximum possibilities to the sector, but always based on scientific reports. We work on a Management Plan that regulates the current situation and offers those possibilities," she explained. It is, in short, to regulate the fishing of the venus clam in a "permanent" way.
The Andalusian Government has demonstrated its commitment to the venus clam fishermen by expanding the quota to the maximum possible (1,300 tonnes) and processing aid for extraordinary stopping of the fleet. But it has also done it with the purse seine fleet, which in Punta Umbría is greatly affected by the "insufficient" sardine quota established by the Ministry.
(1).jpg) The Ministry defends the need to increase this quota to 14,000 tonnes to ensure the profitability of the sector and focus on the summer periods, when it has greater value. The commitment of the Junta de Andalucía, in any case, is with the fishing sector in general because it is "a very vulnerable sector that must be helped," said Crespo.
The new government found an execution of the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF) of just 9 per cent and only in 2019 the funds available will increase to EUR 19.3 million so that "the aid is in the hands of whoever has to be," explained the head of Fisheries.
In addition, the Ministry is wrking to provide fishermen with the necessary infrastructure for their work.
Venus clam fishing method. (Photo: stockfile)
The Andalusian Regional Minister said that her department will finance one hundred per cent of two sewage treatment projects for the ports of Punta Umbría and Isla Cristina worth EUR 1.8 million (EUR 900,000 each), presented in the call for aid for 2019 charged to the EMFF.
"Our intention is to take advantage of the opportunities that fishing allows us. We have to execute the funds to the maximum because this means giving possibilities to the sector and, in this case, to a request that took too long," Crespo concluded.
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