MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Fisheries News

Spain seized Moroccan poacher; Satellite tracking systems; Mussel farmers seek EU aid; Octopus farming potential; Good prospects for Pacific tuna; Galicia to fish in Mozambique; Brussels issues another cod warning...

Spain seized Moroccan poacher

Less than two months after the Spanish fishing vessel Viduido was detained by Moroccan authorities for alleged illegal fishing), the Moroccan fishing vessel Arbayane II is now in a similar situation. Spanish authorities seized the Moroccan-flagged vessel as it prepared to catch, without licence, in waters near Lanzarote and using a trawling system and nets that are banned by EU regulations. The vessel was positioned 30 miles north of La Graciosa and Lanzarote islands, and had 19 crewmembers onboard - three of them Spanish nationals. Two other Moroccan vessels managed to escape. Arbayane II belongs to Arba Pesca, a company owned by fleet operators from Casablanca and Huelva. The Spanish partner, Miguel López Andreu, is headquartered in Huelva, reports El Día. The Arbayane II is currently detained in the port of Los Mármoles de Arrecife in Lanzarote. The Moroccan crewmembers are on board while Spanish authorities define the charges and decide on the fine. The status of 4,500 kilos of different species caught by the vessel also has to be decided. "We thought we were fishing in Moroccan waters," said José Manuel Flores, skipper of Arbayane II., adding that the fish, shrimp and slick head, were all caught in Moroccan waters and "should not be seized by the patrol". The two previous arrests of Moroccan vessels in Spanish waters occurred in 2000 when Aitman was caught red handed in June of that year and the following November Ville de Tánger was found fishing with illegal gear. (FIS/MP).-

Satellite tracking systems

Spain's National Institute of Aerospace Technology (INTA) has signed a five-year contract with the government to oversee the satellite tracking system to be used on fishing vessels. Collaboration between the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA) and INTA began last year with European Council of Ministers support to define the technical characteristics of a system whose objective is ensure fishing vessels comply with European Union regulations. MAPA's Maritime Fisheries Department and INTA have completed the design phase of the satellite tracking system - known as blue boxes - to monitor the movements of EU fishing vessels as defined by the regulations implemented by MAPA in 1998. With this initial phase completed, a new contract was needed for granting certification to those companies interested in selling the equipment to fleet owners. Under the terms of the new contract INTA will certify the equipment units to be installed in fishing boats and will also advise the Fisheries Department on future developments for the Fishing Vessel Monitoring Control Centre. The contract will be effective for five years and MAPA has allocated EUR 305,103.44 to finance the project. (FIS/MP).

Mussel farmers seek EU aid

Spanish mussel producers are hoping to minimise financial losses caused by red tide contamination with aid from the European Union (EU) to be invested in improved storage facilities. Last September Galicia's Fisheries Council closed all mussel farming areas because of the presence of toxins in mussel products. But with improved storage facilities, processing companies could build up their inventories during the summer and avoid having to buy in the autumn when red tide is most frequent, reports "Diario de Arousa". European Union provides storage assistance grants to private companies and the Galician Mussel Producers Organisation (Opmega) wants the regional government to persuade the EU to include mussels as one of the products eligible for funding, extending the storage aid to mussel canning and freezing companies. The storage aid could be used for enlarging existing premises and storage capacity as well as improving the equipment to cope with handling larger stocks during the summer. (FIS/MP).-

Octopus farming potential

The annual report of the Spanish Marine Research Centre (CIMA), dependent from the Fisheries and Maritime Affairs Council, claims that an octopus farming project is showing promising results and great potential for its development in the future. CIMA's report, dating back to 1998, has been distributed among fishermen's associations, research institutes, Spain's autonomous regional communities and even foreign scientific organizations. CIMA's Director Alejandro Guerra Díaz said that "the report wants to emphasise to the fishing and aquaculture sectors that our work is meaningful as long as it contributes to the development of effective marine resource management and to ultimately improve fishermen's and aquaculture workers' lives". The current report on octopus farming, as several previous ones on bream, mussel and oyster culture, was developed with collaboration from Vigo's Spanish Oceanographic Institute, (IEO) and several Galician autonomous communities. centre has published works on bream, mussel and oyster culture "We've had very good results fattening octopus in captivity. An octopus can put on more than a kilo a month. However, the profitability of fattening fingerlings in ponds or tanks has not yet been defined. This is a point that could soon be resolved and will facilitate the development of octopus farms," said Mr. Alejandro Guerra Días. "Shellfish producers, aquaculture farmers and fishermen have all congratulated us on our work. They have offered suggestions and encouraged us to continue working along this line. With our annual reports we share our endeavours with fishermen who realise that research helps solve or find ways of solving resource management and exploitation concerns", added CIMA's Director. (FIS/MP).

Brazil pushes for greater tuna fishery share

"While Brazil's fishery and aquaculture future looks bright, there's still a lot to be done particularly regarding tuna fisheries" said Gabriel Calzavara de Araújo, Director of the Brazilian Fisheries and Aquaculture Department (DPA), adding that Brazil and other South Atlantic nations are keen to gain full control of tuna fisheries through negotiations with the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna, (ICCAT). "Countries that do not belong to this region make 75% of South Atlantic catches, while Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, South Africa and other South Atlantic countries are left with the remaining 25% per cent, argued Mr. Calzavara de Araújo. "Our view regarding world policies on the development of large migrating and straddling species is that the sustainability of stocks cannot be ensured unless there is active participation of all South Atlantic countries. In Brazil 97% of catches come from an area that extends 55 miles offshore and six metres deep, and we must be most vigilant not to deplete resources". Mr. Calzavara de Araujo said that if Brazil concentrated all its effort in tuna and swordfish, the country would rapidly finish with all the coastal stock and "one million people in this country depend on the seafood industry". Besides seafood consumption in three of the country's main urban areas, Sao Paulo, Rio do Janeiro and Brasilia (35 million people) averages 17 kilos pen annum per capita. "Therefore the role of ICCAT as a forum to protect these valuable migrating stocks is precisely to ensure coastal countries' rights to them", stressed Mr. Calzavara de Araújo, adding Brazil will not risk fish stocks for quick economic growth. "We have learned from developed countries. We are fishing and researching simultaneously and for this purpose we've chartered scientific vessels from Spain, where our biologists monitor fishing operations in real time and keep the country's universities updated assessing resources in our waters and areas of influence". Concerning aquaculture Mr. Calzavara de Araújo indicated that there are some difficulties in certain areas, "where we have to work only with native species to avoid risks. Brazil is well aware that it must not repeat other countries experiences who have tolerated the fishing industry to grow in detriment of resources". (FIS/MP).-

Good prospects for Pacific tuna

El Niño sea warming conditions are expected to boost Peruvian tuna catches during the coming season and 25 tuna vessels are ready to start fishing in January, Peru's Deputy Fisheries Minister Leoncio Alvarez told Gestión. However export prospects are somehow conditioned since the local processing plants still are short of US sanitary and technical requirements. "Four large companies came with me to La Joya, California to learn how to overcome our difficulties and comply with the requirements of the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission. In a few weeks' time, we should be able to comply with export requirements; private companies are now working to implement the changes," said Mr. Alvarez. Antonio Castillo, General Manager of the Peruvian Fisheries Exporter's Association (Adex), told La República that tuna exports could generate 500 million US dollars in the next four years, "even when Peru's canning industry is not particularly strong with this type of business, it actually does not require large investments in the medium term. This fact combined with El Niño's climatic conditions, considered optimal for fishing, are offering Peru a unique opportunity. But we still have to comply with US regulations". Ecuador is Peru's greatest tuna export competitor in the region. (FIS/MP).-

Galicia to fish in Mozambique

Galician tuna and squid fishermen are set to benefit enormously from the fisheries agreement between the European Union and Mozambique, according to the latest reports from Spain's Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA). Although Brussels has yet to define the precise allocation of permits for the 49 tuna vessels (35 factory and 14 surface longliners, plus 10 deep-sea shrimp vessels) to operate in Mozambique's waters in return for an annual payment of EUR 4.09 million, Galician fishermen sources expect to be granted 14 longliner licences. MAPA anticipated that Spain could be awarded between 15 and 16 licences for the tuna fleet, plus another 10 for surface longliners. In addition, four or five shellfish vessels might be allowed to operate in Mozambique's fishing grounds, writes La Voz de Galicia. In an interview with Faro de Vigo, José Ramón Fuertes, managing director of Vigo's Fleet Owners Cooperative said: "Any licence we can get is important from an economic point of view, but above all because it opens new opportunities for the fishing effort we are trying start in the Indian Ocean". This is the first agreement to be signed by the EU with Mozambique since 1993. While some expect the agreement to come into effect next year, chances are the agreement will cover the period 2004-2006. (FIS/MP).

Brussels issues another cod warning

Brussels warned Monday it might have to ban cod fishing in northern European waters next year after scientists issued a dire warning over dwindling numbers of the species. A moratorium affecting one of Britain's culinary staples, fish and chips, could soon be in place unless drastic action is taken to protect cod numbers, European agriculture commissioner Franz Fischler said. The Commission's scientific and economic committee is examining an alarming report on cod stocks issued last week by the independent International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), and will report back on 11 November. "Unless it says anything different, which is very unlikely, I can see no other solution in the short term than to propose for 2003 a zero (quota) for cod, haddock and whiting and substantial reductions for plaice and nephrops," Fischler said. (Nephrops norvegicus is a small lobster common around the British and Irish coasts). The ICES report recommended closing all fisheries catching cod "either as a target species or as bycatch" in waters including the North Sea, Irish Sea and channels west of Scotland. Fisheries around Norway, which is not a member of the EU, are also affected. "Needless to say that the economic impact of taking ICES advice literally would leave many coastal areas in deep trouble," Fischler said, pledging unspecified compensation to affected fishermen. "This is why I am duty-bound to think about whether there are any alternatives to taking this dramatic advice to the letter," he said, while sounding downbeat about any alternative being found. The ICES report had fully vindicated year-old commission warnings about fish stocks, Fischler said, complaining that Member States had failed to take any action. "I don't want to say 'I told you so'," he said, adding, "but it is galling, after repeatedly warning of the dire consequences of inaction, to see our worst fears realised and to be now faced with recommendations for a moratorium on some cod fisheries. We now have to recognise that the state of these stocks has never been worse." The independent findings justified root-and-branch reform of the EU's Common Fisheries Policy first put forward by the commission in May, Fischler argued. "Effective reform of the CFP to manage fisheries and fish stocks on a long-term basis is essential to rebuild cod and hake stocks and to stop over fishing destroying the other fisheries in the community". The EU's executive arm wants to retire 8,600 vessels from the community fishing fleet from 2003 through 2006 at an estimated cost of 28,000 jobs. Sixty per cent of those boats would be French, Italian and Spanish. The commission also wants to replace the current system of annual quotas, which it argues prevents long-term planning to replenish fish stocks, with multi-annual targets for catches. Brussels wants further to strengthen monitoring of fishing, complaining that fraudulent reporting by quota-dodging fishermen and illegal landings are rampant. But a "Friends of Fishing" bloc -- France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain -- is fighting the proposed reforms. Fischler, however, has accused France of being the main stumbling block to progress. After a meeting of agriculture ministers late last month, the commissioner accused France of "hiding" behind the other pro-fishing bloc members. (FIS/MP).-