The general secretary of the Fisheries Advisory Council of the Outermost Regions of the European Union (Ccrup), Daniela Costa, has requested that community regulations be more "applicable" in their waters and more in line with the reality of their fleets, including that of the Canary Islands.
Costa has analyzed, in an interview with Efeagro, the priorities of this fisheries advisory council, in which the shipowners, unions, aquaculture farmers and consumers of the outermost community areas are represented.
The need for renewal and environmental protection compatible with the economy of fishermen stand out among the priorities for the fleet and NGOs in these areas far from the EU, Costa stressed, in her responses by videoconference from the archipelago of the Azores (Portugal).
"Our fishermen feel that there is a great discrepancy between the general European law and what is applicable to the small fleet of the outermost regions; there are exceptions, but they are not enough to be applied in our waters," she added.
The European Union (EU) has nine outermost regions: one, the Canary Islands, belongs to Spain; two, to Portugal (Azores and Madeira) and six, to France (French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Mayotte, Saint Martin and Réunion).
Their fleet "needs a renewal, it is what is most debated, it is very important", according to Costa, who has requested special recognition for small vessels that use artisanal gear, although there are large vessels based or interested in the outermost regions.
A total of 3,794 fishing vessels have ports in the outermost regions, according to Ccrup data from 2022.
The Canary Islands has 741 ships and a thousand fishermen and, within Spain, it is the third autonomous community in number of ships (but not in fishing power) and the one with the oldest ships, with an average of 43 years (35 is the average of Spanish ships), only surpassed by Ceuta, according to figures from the General Secretariat of Fisheries.
Within the outermost regions, the Canary Islands ranks second in ships and third in fishermen; Martinique (with 814 ships and 1,114 fishermen) has the most ships and the Azores (711 ships and 3,000 fishermen), the first in sailors.
Scientific reports are missing
Costa has pointed out that the sector in the outermost areas regrets the lack of data on "sustainable" fishing in the European oceanic basins of the Western, Eastern and Indian Atlantic.
This is what the Ccrup expressed in an opinion presented on the occasion of the negotiation of the Total Allowable Catches (TAC) and quotas, which the Fisheries Ministers of the European Union will hold next Monday and Tuesday in Brussels.
However, Costa has expressed her hope in the scientific studies being carried out by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) on the fishing grounds of the outermost areas and the relationship between fishing and protected areas, especially in vulnerable habitats.
The ICES surveys, which advise the European Commission (EC), will provide knowledge to the Governments, which are "implementing rules with a shortage of scientific reports", she remarked.
Renewable energies and aquaculture
Costa has acknowledged that the conflict over the development of renewable energies, such as wind power, and its effect on fishing grounds "is causing great concern to fishermen in the Canary Islands".
The advisory council of the outermost regions also has aquaculture among its competences; but, according to one of its reports, there are "difficulties" due to the great distance to continental Europe, which makes the transport of fingerlings difficult.
A "SWOT" (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) analysis on aquaculture by this council focuses on the problem that this distance implies for its development due to import costs and access to the most demanding markets.
In the Canary Islands, however, it highlights that they can import fingerlings at a low cost and export their fish to continental Europe, something "almost impossible" for the French outermost regions.
But, as she points out, in the nine regions it is necessary to develop sustainable aquaculture in order to increase the European production quota and reduce the food dependence of the territories, overcoming obstacles ranging from banking difficulties to the risks of cyclones and hurricanes.