• Of the 587 tons in which the fattening capacity has been expanded for 2020 with respect to those introduced and justified the previous year, only 10 were assigned to Balfegó in the fishing plan presented at ICCAT in March, the rest being distributed among the other two companies in the sector.
• The company understands that the distribution of this increase should be proportional and taking as a reference the justified entries from last year or, ultimately, the justified fishing quotas for this campaign in April.
• Only 14 h. After going fishing, BALFEGÓ requests that this ‘unfair’ allocation be modified, making it impossible for the company to introduce part of the 2,440 tonnes of bluefin tuna that it has permission to fish this year, thus causing irreparable damage.
Madrid - Balfegó, a company specialized in fishing, aquaculture and commercialization of bluefin tuna, has asked the Government, and specifically the General Secretariat of Fisheries, to review the distribution of fattening capacity in aquaculture facilities, due to the fact that The 587 tons of increase that can be introduced this year compared to those introduced and justified the previous year (from 5,713 Tm to 6,300 Tm), only 10 have been assigned to the Balfegó company, (in the fishing plan presented to ICCAT in March ) dividing the remaining 577 between the other two companies in the sector. This ‘unfair’ allocation, if not reversed in the next 14 hours, will produce irreparable damage to the company.
Photo Balfegó
Balfegó, in his claim, defends his right to have this capacity assigned proportionally taking into account the entries made last year in a justified way in each of the farms or, ultimately, based on the amounts justified this year for each company in April at the request of the General Directorate of Sustainable Fisheries. In no case, at the company's discretion, should any reference be made to any amount that the operators have overestimated and were subsequently unable to justify properly.
For this, the company refers to article 29 of the State's Maritime Fishing Law, applicable by analogy to the capacity of bluefin tuna to enter fattening facilities, which contemplates that “in the event of any increase or decrease in fishing opportunities, the allocation made to each ship or group of ships will increase or decrease proportionally, so that they maintain the same relative position among themselves ”. For the company, this statement, in the absence of any other, should serve as a guide for the General Secretariat of Fisheries.
Photo Balfegó
On the other hand, and according to Balfegó, the input capacity for this year should preferably be reserved to cover the fishing quotas justified during the month of April by all operators, and only after being covered can the surplus be assigned to new needs fishing that may have been justified after April, if any. According to company spokespersons, "it would be irresponsible for the SGP to be aware that Spain's full fattening capacity will not be used, with the fishing quotas justified in April, depriving Balfegó of the right to use them" .
Balfegó hopes that this ‘unfair situation’ will be resolved as quickly as possible, since there are 14 hours left for the fishing period to begin, which this year runs from May 26 to July 1. It should be remembered that the Balfegó commanded fleet has eight purse seiners - three Spanish and five French -, 16 tugboats and five auxiliary boats, generating 200 direct jobs for the fishing campaign.
Adapting to the new normal, the company has implemented cutting-edge security measures and systems against COVID-19, both for the crew and the ships that will participate in the campaign. In addition, it has equipped some of the group's vessels with a new technology that will allow estimating the number of individuals and the average weight of schools before carrying out the fishing operation. With this technology it will be possible to avoid the capture of excessively large schools, whose trapping and transfer could lead to operational complications. At the same time, this technology will allow a more accurate estimation of the quantities captured and transferred, both in number of copies and in average weight.
Lastly, the company has stressed the importance of receiving, at these times of extreme difficulty for the country's business network, all the necessary support from the Administration with criteria of justice and impartiality to continue with its activity, even more so taking into account that the company is still working to minimize the consequences of the storm Gloria.
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