(L-R) The Minister of Fisheries and the president of Galicia, Rosa Quintana, Alberto N. Feijóo, with minister Miguel Arias Cañete. (Photo: Magrama)

Aid for EUR 6.1 million for fleet operating in Mauritania

SPAIN
Tuesday, August 28, 2012, 16:30 (GMT + 9)

The head of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Magrama), Miguel Arias Cañete, announced that the government agreed to implement aids for those vessels affected by the situation of the fisheries agreement between the European Union (EU) and Mauritania.

The grants will benefit shipowners and crew members of the fleets.

The aid amounts to EUR 6.1 million under the State Budget, and will be co-financed by the EU.

The minister recalled that the Ministry rejected the settlement of the bilateral fishing agreement because it believed that "the EU has signed a protocol with technical conditions that make fishing unviable".

"In the European institutions, the representatives of the Spanish government will be positioned against the ratification of the protocol and we will demand that a new agreement should be negotiated with different conditions that allow the Spanish fleet to operate under reasonable conditions," added Arias Cañete .

The aids that have been announced will be granted for a period of six months, payable retroactively from 1 August, 2012.

Crew members shall receive EUR 45 per stoppage day, while ship owners will receive a daily amount that depends on the size of the ship, according to the scales of the European Fisheries Fund.

The fishing agreement affects 37 fishing vessels: 21 cephalopod vessels and 16 shellfish vessels, and about 225 crew members.

"The Government considers that this is an exceptional measure, as we believe that the EU has to renegotiate the agreement and seek new fishing conditions," explained the Spanish minister.

Last week, the head of the Ministry of Rural and Maritime Affairs of Xunta de Galicia, Rosa Quintana, received representatives of CIG-Mar to analyze the situation of the cephalopod fleet affected by the preliminary agreement signed between the EU and Mauritania and to seek a solution.

The Minister stressed that the bilateral agreement "is very expensive and does not benefit the Galician fleet, or the rest of the European fleets."

Related article:

- Galicia reaffirms fisheries pact with Mauritania rejection

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

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