MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Fresh fish flown to Vigo from Mauritania and Brazil

President of APV, Abel Caballero, said he hoped to position Vigo as number one for fresh fish globally.

President of Vigo Port Authority (APV) Abel Caballero, announced the signing of an agreement with the Iberia Cargo company for transporting fresh fish from the faraway fishing grounds of Morocco and Brazil to the Port of Vigo.

The agreement was signed by Caballero; general director of Iberia Cargo, Alfonso Fuertes; and Soledad Santiago, in charge of Cargo Trade in Iberia Cargo. Flights should begin in the fall, as indicated by the viability study conducted by the APV. Flights would be routed from Vigo to Mauritania, passing through Madrid and the Canary islands. Further ahead, another cargo link will be consolidated with Brazil, and the possibilities of other airlines to cover the routes are being assessed in order to connect the airports of Peinador with Canada and South Africa. An initial 2,000 â€" 2,500 tonnes of fresh fish are expected to be transported annually to the airport of Peinador and the port of Vigo as a world hub for fresh fish routing. Other participants of the agreement were a group of exporters and fisheries business representatives and the Decoecsa Company, which plans to do in Vigo what it has already done at Vitoria, airport co-ordinating operations and managing fishery activities, published the La Voz de Galiciapress. The participants at the meeting deemed the share-holder structure of the company, which will manage the fresh fish routes, to be almost completed. The company will be made up of exporters, distributors, ship-owners, transporters, and a finance company will take part together with other strategic local partners, and the Xunta de Galicia. All parties will jointly invest an estimated seed capital of EUR 500,000. "We are not establishing a roof. It is a new route that can become as significant as frozen fish was in its hey-day. We want Vigo to be first class in the fresh fish arena," pointed out Caballero, once the agreement was reached. (FIS)