The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas and the counselor of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food Sovereignty of the Government of the Canary Islands, Narvay Quintero, held a meeting this Tuesday with the fishermen of La Graciosa to learn first-hand about the situation of the sector, their needs and their proposals in relation to the management of the La Graciosa Marine Reserve and the Northern Islets of Lanzarote.
The meeting took place within the framework of the events to commemorate the anniversary of the Marine Reserves of Fishing Interest of the Canary Islands. The La Graciosa reserve was created in 1995 and continues to be the most extensive in the Canary Islands and Spain, with an area of over 70,700 hectares. Added to this are the Marine Reserve of Punta de La Restinga-Mar de Las Calmas, which celebrates its thirtieth anniversary this year, and that of La Palma, which turns 25 years old since its creation.
During the meeting, Quintero highlighted that marine reserves are an essential tool for reconciling the recovery of fishing resources with the maintenance of the activity of the artisanal fleet and stressed the need for their management to continue to be developed with the direct involvement of the sector. “These spaces were born from the knowledge, initiative, and commitment of the fishermen themselves. More than three decades later, they have shown that protecting resources and ensuring the continuity of artisanal fishing are inseparable objectives,” said the counselor.
Quintero highlighted the collaboration between the Government of the Canary Islands and the Ministry in the shared management of the reserves of La Graciosa and El Hierro, which include internal and external waters. This cooperation is articulated through an agreement that includes the contribution of infrastructure, technical means, and specialized personnel for control, surveillance, and scientific monitoring tasks.
Likewise, he explained that the results obtained during these three decades show a greater abundance and diversity of species inside the reserves than in unprotected areas, specimens of larger size (the presence of a greater number of adult individuals increases the reproductive capacity of the populations and favors the natural regeneration of fishing resources) and better catches per unit of effort, circumstances that reduce costs and favor the profitability of professional activity. He also highlighted that some of the ports located in the vicinity of these areas have maintained greater stability in their fleet, as is the case in Órzola, compared to the general decrease in the Canary Islands fleet in recent decades.
“The experience of La Graciosa demonstrates that a correctly managed marine reserve is not a limitation for the sector, but rather an investment in the continuity of the activity fishing, in the conservation of resources and in the opportunities for those who want to join fishing,” he added.
In this regard, Luis Planas considered that marine reserves constitute “a magnificent instrument for the protection of the marine environment and, at the same time, to guarantee that fishermen can continue developing their activity,” especially in the case of artisanal fishing. In this sense, he recalled that the Marine Reserve of La Graciosa and the Northern Islets of Lanzarote, with more than 70,700 hectares, is the largest in Spain and highlighted that its creation responded to the initiative of the fishermen themselves.
Demands of the sector
On the other hand, the Government of the Canary Islands and the Ministry announced new training actions to facilitate fishermen who work in the reserves to know and use the new control application aimed at these professionals. These sessions will allow accompanying the sector during its implementation, resolving doubts and reducing the difficulties that its use may generate. “The objective is to facilitate the adaptation of professionals to this new tool so that digitalization contributes to more effective management, without becoming an additional obstacle for those who carry out fishing activity,” indicated the counselor.
For his part, Planas stated that both the Ministry and the Government of the Canary Islands will maintain dialogue with the sector to resolve any difficulties that may arise with the use of this new application. In this regard, he indicated that "we will provide as many courses, training sessions, or meetings as necessary so that artisanal fishing, as practiced here, can adapt to this situation; the issue is not insurmountable, it is a problem that has been explained to us very clearly and I have made a commitment to address it".
Likewise, he announced the reinforcement of surveillance resources in the La Graciosa and Northern Islets of Lanzarote Marine Reserve with the incorporation of a new latest-generation patrol boat, intended to intensify control efforts against poaching and contribute to the conservation of fishing resources.
In this regard, Quintero also defended the need to continue advancing in management supported by scientific knowledge and the daily experience of fishermen, as well as reinforcing the resources allocated to the control and surveillance of these areas.
Regarding this, he recalled that the Ministry is working on the expansion of the network of Marine Reserves of Fishing Interest through the development of studies and technical work in La Gomera, Tenerife, and in the area between Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, in the vicinity of the islet of Lobos and the Strait of La Bocayna.
On the other hand, sector professionals conveyed to the minister and the secretary their concern about the new obligations arising from the European Union's Fisheries Control Regulation. Specifically, they expressed the need to prevent its application from disproportionately increasing the bureaucratic burden of an artisanal fleet made up mostly of small vessels and to adapt the control, registration, and communication requirements to the reality of fishing in the Canary Islands.
Regarding this, Quintero recalled that the Government of the Canary Islands will continue to advocate for an application of the regulations that takes into account the singularities of the Archipelago's artisanal fishing.
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