Galician ships in a fishing port. (Photo: Lía Russo)

Galicia delivers its proposal for Common Fisheries Policy

SPAIN
Tuesday, September 11, 2012, 04:20 (GMT + 9)

The Xunta de Galicia sent the Secretary General of Fisheries of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Magrama), Carlos Domínguez; and the President of the Fisheries Committee of the European Parliament (EP), Gabriel Mato, the Galician opinion on the reform of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), adopted unanimously on 7 September in the full Board of the Fisheries Council of Galicia.

The autonomous government’s initiative brings together the interests of the fishing industry, the local shellfish sector and local aquaculture in the new roadmap for European fisheries.

On preparing the document, the maximum consensus between the government, the industry and the groups represented in the Galician parliament were sought.

"The Xunta will not cease defending the interests of the fleet of Galicia, so it will continue working and will make every effort to ensure that these joint proposals that are supported by solid arguments, are taken into account in the future CFP," pointed out this organism in a press release.

Among the key points of the proposal is the Galician Government's repeated rejection of the current system of the total allowable catches (TACs) and of the quotas.

In addition, the Xunta stresses the importance of having socioeconomic reports that are at the same level as the scientists’ on the impact studies on the species.

Another important aspect is the delay in achieving the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) from 2015 -- as proposed by the European Union (EU) -- to 2020 and the defense of the progressive elimination of discards.

Meanwhile, as to regionalization, Galicia's proposal argues that Member States should have more power and a decisive influence on the adoption of measures in their areas.

Regarding trading, the Galician executive highlights the homogeneous treatment of all the fishery and aquaculture products traded in the EU market and the importance of having a differentiation of resources.

Finally, the differentiation of the industrial fishing, of inshore fishing and shellfish capture is mentioned. For the Xunta, these modalities should be governed by different regulations, since they suppose unequal economic and social conditions.

Related article:

- Advances for Spain in negotiating CFP reform

By Analia Murias
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com

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