Carmen Fraga MEP, Chairman of the Committee on Fisheries of the European Parliament. (Photo: EP)
MEPs veto swordfish pact with Chile
(EUROPEAN UNION, 12/1/2010)
The Committee on Fisheries of the European Parliament (EP) has rejected the proposed agreement with Chile by the European Commission (EC) for fishing swordfish in the South Pacific region, considering that it does not solve the problems of landings for the fleet.
Carmen Fraga, president of the Commission, argued that the conditions of access to the designated Chilean ports "lack the specificity and reliability needed to improve their situation."
The trade dispute with Chile began in the 1990's, because the country would not allow the Community longline fleet to land and transit through its ports. Therefore, ships had to to travel to Peruvian ports and loose numerous days.
The situation prompted a formal complaint from the National Association of Large longliner Shipowners (Anapa) and a claim by the European Union (EU) to the World Trade Organization (WTO).
To resolve the problem, Brussels agreed with the Chilean authorities to appoint three ports for which Spanish vessels fishing for swordfish in the southeast Pacific could use.
However, the European ministers voted against the approval of the agreement. As they claimed that it would limit the fleet dedicated to catching swordfish, for which "does not solve the problems of Community pelagic vessels, which also extract horse mackerel in these waters and suffer the same difficulties," the EFE news agency reported.
Fishing for swordfish in these fisheries is regulated by the Inter American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC), but because Chile is not part of that organization, trying to "apply it's domestic law to fleets, although the fishery is carried out in international waters," outside the Exclusive Economic Zone, explained the parliamentarian of the European Peoples Party (EPP) in a statement.
By Silvina Corniola
[email protected]
www.seafood.media
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