Head of the Secretariat of Marine Affairs of Galicia Rosa Quintana (R), in Brussels. (Photo: Xunta de Galicia)

Galicia would lose EUR 533 million if its fleet stops operating in Gran Sol

SPAIN
Wednesday, April 25, 2018, 23:40 (GMT + 9)

Galicia estimates the possible socio-economic impact of Brexit by more than EUR 533 million only with the Gran Sol fleet, where currently 66 Galician vessels operate.

This is clear from the Economic Impact report of Brexit on Galician fishing, prepared by the University of Santiago de Compostela on behalf of the Xunta and presented on Tuesday by Undersecretary of Marine Affairs Rosa Quintana to the Director of Fisheries Policy of the Atlantic, North Sea, Baltic and Ultraperipheral Regions, Helene Clark, and the representatives of the Brexit Task Force.

The estimated figure corresponds to the average revenues of the Gran Sol fleet that operates in Scottish and British waters, formed by 96 ships, 66 of which are Galician, that is to say, "practically 70 per cent of the fleet is Galician," Quintana said.

In addition, the document states that of the 81 sectors of the activity linked to fishing, almost half would be affected. Of that half, 27 correspond to purely industrial areas and the remaining 17 has to do with services related to fishing, and that would be equivalent to a value of intermediate consumption of more than EUR 163 million.

Furthermore, Quintana said that the report reflects that the Brexit would have an impact of EUR 140 million only on the employees’ wages and EUR 23 million on Social Security contributions.

The document, which was also presented to the sector in March in the plenary session of the Galician Fisheries Council, warns that, in the event that the United Kingdom restricts licenses, there would be consequences for the entire sector. In relation to this aspect, it states that the economic activities of the fishing sector are global in nature, since it imports and exports and in turn contributes to the creation of an industrial network and services rooted in the Galician economy.

Given this situation, the Undersecretary of Marine Affairs considers that the most favourable scenario with immediate effect would be the "maintenance of the status quo" in its fishing conditions in British waters after Brexit. In this regard, she stressed the importance of achieving a long-term Brexit agreement that is linked to mutual access to the resource, fishing areas and the market, and that provides a management framework that guarantees the sustainability of the populations.

Quintana stressed that the Xunta is presenting this report in Brussels with the aim of being taken into account and transferred to the Brexit negotiating team. In this way, Galicia seeks to make the negotiator of the European Commission see the true value of their fishing activity and maintain a proactive attitude with the United Kingdom, providing them with what they need.

"We feel peace of mind knowing that fishing is being considered a fundamental reason in all negotiations and the satisfaction of seeing that they liked the report," she said.

In this sense, the director of Fisheries Policy of the Atlantic, North Sea, Baltic and Ultraperipheral Regions, and representatives of the Brexit Task Force transmitted to the counselor a message of tranquility, and assured that fishing is part of the first line of the negotiations. At the time, they thanked all the effort that was made from Xunta de Galicia to provide arguments in the defense of Galician fishing interests before the departure of the United Kingdom from the EU.

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