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Source: El Diario
The Canary Islands demand an increase in their bluefin tuna quota
(SPAIN, 12/21/2022)
The Canary Islands demand an increase in their bluefin tuna quota despite the fact that they are not able to catch the one they are assigned
Source: Wikipedia
"There is fish, there are fishermen to catch it, but we have designed a fishing plan that can be improved and in the previous four years only the amount assigned to the islands has been consumed for one year," laments David Pavón, spokesman for the Regional Federation of Fishermen of the Archipelago.
In the waters of the Canary Islands there is an abundance of bluefin tuna, a highly valued species in markets such as Japan, but the 249 artisanal fishing vessels on the island are unable to capture all their assigned quota. Since 2019, the campaign ends each year wasting tons of Thunnus thynnuss despite being crucial for the pocket of the fishermen of the Archipelago. By 2023, the Government of Spain increases by 10% the amount of bluefin tuna that can be fished in the Atlantic, the Strait and the Mediterranean, up to a total of 6,784 tons. And the subsector on the islands welcomes the fact that the 691 extra tons obtained by the State contribute to increasing the Canary Islands quota, which stands at 528,000 kilos, although it estimates that it will be very complicated.
At its annual meeting, held last November, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) confirmed the recovery of bluefin tuna. The Commission was created in 1966 to prevent overfishing of tuna in the 20th century. In the case of bluefin tuna, its meat is highly demanded in the Asian market for sushi and sashimi. In 1999, GreenPeace warned that the number of this species had decreased by 80% and, ten years later, only 15% of the original population remained. It also has a high ecological value, since being at the top of the trophic pyramid, it contributes to the balance in ecosystems of the North Atlantic, the Mediterranean or the Gulf of Mexico, since the marine giant (it can reach 3 meters in length and 600 kilos weight) feeds on a wide variety of fish and contributes to maintaining the food chain.
 The ICCAT establishes each year the recommendations for annual catches of the species that must be applied throughout the planet to carry out sustainable fishing. In 2022, the Total Allowable Catches (TAC) amounted to 36,000 tons, which increased at the meeting held this year in Vila do Lobo (Portugal) to 40,570 tons by 2023, of which 21,503 correspond to the European Union. tons (31.5%, for Spain). Once established, the central government agrees on the distribution with the different fleets of the State and a resolution is published that begins the bluefin tuna fishing campaign, trying more and more to advance the process so that it can begin at the beginning of the year.
Source: El Diario
The distribution is regulated through Royal Decree 46/2019 and is assigned by fixed percentages to a total of eight fleets. Canarian boats accounted for 7.9% of the total. For this reason, "it is difficult" or directly "impossible" for the 10% more granted by ICCAT to Spain to go to the Archipelago, as recognized by David Pavón, representative and spokesman for the Regional Federation of Fishermen of the Canary Islands. The Canarian Coalition has demanded that the increase be allocated "entirely" to the artisanal fleets, mainly that of the Islands, because it estimates that it would be the "salvation of a subsector punished by the coronavirus and inflation."
Pavón supports the party's request "to the death" and considers that, if it were achieved, "it would be spectacular", but for this the bases would have to be changed and without a specific justification, he sees it as complicated. He understands that all the Spanish fleets included in the distribution will want an increase, but considers that the less favored parties should be prioritized by previous agreements, including opening by-catch for some segment of the northern state fleet that still does not have it.
It will be difficult for the quota to go entirely to the Canary Islands, even more so because the fleet of the islands, since 2019, has only been able to consume its entire quota in 2021. In 2019, island fishermen wasted 131 of the 438.5 tons that had assigned; This also occurred after achieving an increase in the possibilities of captures of 183 more than the previous year. In 2020, 90 of the 570 tons granted were not caught. In 2021, the quota assigned to the Canary Islands fell again to 518 tons and they were exhausted. For this year, Pavón recalls that bluefin tuna can still be caught, but "most likely it will not be fully consumed."
.png) <--Source: Tenerife Weekly
“It has not been due to fishing capacity, but because the management of the fishery did not find the key to take advantage of it. There are fish, there are fishermen to catch it, but we have designed a fishing plan that can be improved and in the previous four years only one year of light has been consumed on the islands”, laments Pavón. 2019 between the Government of the Canary Islands and the Regional Federation of Fishermen of the Canary Islands, then chaired by Fernando Gutiérrez.
At that time, the proposal sent to Madrid left a gap for the first time between pole-and-line and artisanal tuna vessels. No differentiated treatment was established for pole-and-line fishermen, dedicated exclusively to the capture of tuna, and catch limits were found per vessel based on their size, since previously a 7-meter tuna vessel had the same as one out of 32. The mistake was not leaving space for Olympic fishing, that is, all the fishing boats were able to go out to fish until they reached the accentuated quota for the islands.
“That was a proposal that was made from the Canary Islands to Madrid and Madrid supported it, formalized it respecting point by point. What happened? That many of those boats had a quota that they didn't even catch,” explains Pavón.
"Of those 249 boats among which the Canary Islands quota was distributed, there were some that were in garages, that had not fished for four years, that had not fished for tuna... a large part of the quota was lost," recalls Pavón. In 2021, the quota assigned to the islands will be covered because in April it was opened so that all the boats could fish at the same time and in competition, until reaching 518 tons. "And this year it was similar: a part with a catch limit and then an open quota, but as of June 20 and in that month there are not so many bluefin tuna on the islands," says Pavón.
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Carmelo Dorta, General Director of Fisheries of the Government of the Canary Islands, considers that the model that the Islands have to catch bluefin tuna must be compensated. “If the quota is not currently being spent, the same is that the management model would have to damage some additions or modifications for that quota to be exhausted in some way”, he underlines. Because if the entire quota is not spent, "defending that they give us more quota is complex," he adds. What in his opinion does seem to be clear is that the distribution of what Spain has obtained will go, mostly, to the artisanal fleets, among which is the Canary Islands, "but there is also the Strait, which in this currently has a very narrow quota, and part of the Mediterranean, which would also benefit. You have to fight it and it will look like it ”, he indicates.
The fishing subsector is mostly in favor of having a period in which bluefin tuna is caught with limitations for each vessel and then it is Olympic, that is, that the 249 fishing vessels can catch until the quota is exhausted. “That way everyone has a choice, because the bluefin tuna does not enter all the islands equally. So, if the entry through Fuerteventura is delayed, for example, their ships will have time to capture it. It is good that there is a period at the beginning in which each one has room for a certain amount of catching, ”says Pavón.
The bluefin tuna is a migratory species that travels distances of 8,000 kilometers in the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean and Black Sea in cyclical routes: it can reach up to 72 kilometers per hour, submerging to depths of 1,0000 meters 27 at eight degrees. The Thunnus thynnuss usually passes through the waters near the Canary Islands between March and early May, mainly. The problem is that allowing Olympic fishing on these dates, in addition to not allowing time for everyone to calmly capture their quota, has the added bonus of lowering the price of a species that can be sold between 7 and 10 euros each. kilo (the species that are caught on the islands average more than 250 kilos). "Catching a lot of quota in a week, two weeks or a month is detrimental for the fisherman, because he gets fewer euros per kilo, which is also limited by a quota," explains Pavón.
Where there is more discussion among the subsector of the islands is on the opening date for Olympic fishing or similar modalities. In 2021, the fact that it opened in April was good for the catch, but that in 2022 it was at the end of June, it was too late, because although it is still present almost all year round, the bluefin tuna near the islands is much smaller. “This year we proposed a stoppage period to clean the market. Wait for the fish to be at zero and after that it begins to be caught with Olympic fishing or another different model, like anyone can catch bluefin tuna but with a limit per boat and day so that the market is not saturated. It seems that the ideal would be to make the stop on some date after mid-April and, between April and May, start the Olympic part, although at sea every year is a world”, explains Pavón.
 <--Source: El Diario
However, the subsector and the Government of the Canary Islands have not yet reached an agreement. “We have a war every year against the technician (Víctor García, from the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries) designer of the first proposal that was sent to Madrid. And last year he also insisted on proposing June to open Olympic fishing. We wanted another earlier date. But in the end, if the Government of the Canary Islands ignores us and there is no consensus, then the General Secretariat for Fisheries opts for the proposal of the Government of the Canary Islands”, laments Pavón.
In the Islands, tuna account for most of the income of fishermen, where some even only dedicate themselves to these species. Among the varieties, the most important is the tuna (bigeye tuna in the Peninsula), whose share amounts to around 2,500 tons in the Canary Islands, along with skipjack tuna. But “bluefin tuna is increasingly important; In fact, it is starting to be crucial, even more so when we have a lot of problems with tuna or skipjack or bonito tuna, which less and less passes through the waters of the Canary Islands. For many boats, bluefin tuna is the base and within the versatility they need to survive, since they do not have prickly pear or bonito, bluefin tuna is very important in the first half of the year”, remarks Pavón.
Source: Iván Alejandro Hernández / eldiario
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