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Deputy Minister Guillermo Moran stressed that what is eliminated is trawling, not the fishing fleet. (Photo: puertodemanta.gob.ec/SRP/FIS)
Contingency plan for shrimp presented
ECUADOR
Wednesday, October 03, 2012, 04:30 (GMT + 9)
On Monday the Undersecretariat of Fisheries Resources (SRP) presented the Contingency Plan for the Trawling Fleet, which includes 142 vessels.
The plan states that 33 ships were approved to continue with their operations, but with the change of fishing gear.
Six of these vessels will have to adapt traps for catching eels, 25 vessels will use gill nets and bottom longlines, and further 2 boats will perform operations with deep longline for fishing cod.
In addition, the plan also provides that owners seeking new fisheries with another boat will be allocated 34 quotas, and the crew members who wish to continue fishing will receive additional 75 quotas.
To participate in the contingency programme, those interested must issue a letter of interest to the Deputy Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture. They will be able to receive loans from the National Finance Corporation (CFN), ranging between USD 20,000 and USD 50,000, as appropriate.
The crew members of the vessels engaged in trawling have already started to analyse the plan devised by the Executive to deal with the cancellation of the practice from 15 December, 2012, Prensa Latina reported.
The Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Aquaculture and Fisheries, Guillermo Moran, stressed that what is eliminated is trawling, not the fishing fleet.
In Ecuador, the industrial trailing fleet consists of 156 Industrial boats: 120 boats engaged in catching shrimp and 36 dedicated to pomada prawn.
The Ministry of Environment considers that trawling is not friendly to the marine ecosystem because it is not selective and causes impacts on the ocean floor.
"It's one of the most invasive fishing methods, for this reason its use has been questioned and further regulation has been demanded," the official document stated.
"This fishing gear is one of the most destructive forms of catching fish and is responsible for nearly half of all the discarded fish and marine organisms worldwide," the Ministry of Environment added, reported El Telégrafo.
Related article:
- Trawling ban deferral unconvincing for shrimp harvesters
By Analia Murias
editorial@fis.com
www.fis.com
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