The predatory fishing practices of the Spanish fleet out of Andalucia have been raised by certain of Portugal’s Left Bloc MPs who have asked the Minister of Sea, Ana Paula Vitorino how she will monitor the raiders and ensure that the Guadiana Border Agreement is fully complied with.
The problem faced by Portugal’s fishermen has led to calls for the Guadiana Border Agreement to be scrapped as it helps the Spanish and disadvantages the Portuguese.
Local reports of more than three dozen Spanish boats fishing in Portuguese waters include claims that the Spanish are not respecting Portugal’s rights and rules.
The Algarve’s fishermen accuse Spanish skippers of ignoring the legal requirements in the agreement, including fishing schedules, daily catch limits, the minimum sizes and the boundaries of the fishing area.
The Left Bloc has asked the Minister when and by how much Portugal’s fishermen will be compensated.
Spain also had decreed that its fleet can fish for sardines as from March 1st and its boats have been landing the fish in the knowledge that the Portuguese fleet is prevented from catching the nation’s favourite until the summer.
Local fishing organisation Olhãopesca has said say that Portuguese vessels covered by the Guadiana Border Agreement do not fish off the Spanish coast because "it is depleted by over-exploitation" and therefore our ship owners based in the eastern Algarve conclude that the Guadiana agreement should be scrapped as it is one-sided.
Portuguese skippers are used to being hauled over and inspected by Portugal’s Naval vessels and have demanded that with obvious flaunting of the rule occurring on a daily basis, that the navy should take more than a passing interest in the huge Spanish fleet which they say are operating illegally.
On Tuesday night, about thirty Spanish ships were spotted off the coast of Tavira, using a multitude of lights while the Portuguese fishermen are allowed no more than three lights.
The Spanish vessels are using smaller mesh sizes than used in Portugal, enabling them to catch a variety of fish, many of which are immature and illegally caught sardines.
If a Portuguese vessel was caught doing this the skipper would have to jettison the catch and pay a hefty fine.
Each Spanish fishing boat catches an estimated six tons of sardines per trip while Portuguese skippers can not exceed 150 kilos per trip, forty times less than the Spanish allowance.
The Minister for the Sea has a fight on her hands with the Spanish, with the Guadiana Border Agreement and with Portugal disadvantaged fishermen who are forced to follow rules that allow the Spanish to plunder their waters with impunity.
The European Union has been concerned that the Portuguese are the largest fish consumers in the Union yet catches are declining. It wants to see the gap filled by aquaculture even though the aquaculture in the open sea along the Algarve coast requires high investment.
Seine fishing (or seine-haul fishing) is a method that employs a seine or dragnet which Portuguese fishermen use with the accompanying international eco-label, because this method allows the release of juveniles.
This annoyed the Spanish as it was seen as an artisan and selective method so they pressured Brussels to get the ecological label withdrawn and joint quotas for sardines established - the beginning of the end of the Portuguese domestic fishing fleet.
Europe now wants to establish the European Sea which will further erode Portugal’s rights over its maritime territory. The government is fully in favour of this give away in the knowledge that old style fishing from boats will be replaced by cheap imports and factory farmed fish.
A start point is the scrapping of the Guadiana Border Agreement which, alongside robust patrolling of Portugal’s waters by Portuguese Naval vessels, could herald a resurgence of this most traditional of occupations, a major employer in the Algarve region.
