THE PERPETRATORS FACE FINES OF UP TO 60,000 EUROS

The Civil Guard removes an illegal "large" fish trap in the vicinity of Puerto Calero

The Union of Civil Guards urges the Government of the Canary Islands to review and update the current regulations to put a stop to the "legal loopholes" and the "uncontrolled plundering of the archipelago's marine fauna."

May 18 2018 (13:07 WEST)
The Civil Guard removes an illegal "large" fish trap in the vicinity of Puerto Calero
The Civil Guard removes an illegal "large" fish trap in the vicinity of Puerto Calero

The Río Órbigo patrol boat of the Civil Guard located last May 16 an illegal "large" fish trap in the vicinity of Puerto Calero, which was taken out of circulation, according to the Union of Civil Guards (UGC)

"This work of preservation and surveillance of the marine ecosystem in the waters of the Canary archipelago, carried out by the meritorious institute, is not occasional or fortuitous, since it is common for unscrupulous and poachers in the fishing sector to set gear with prohibited measures, ignoring the legislation that regulates the use of fish traps in the Canary fishing ground," say from the association of civil guards. 

From the same they explain that, according to the regulations, the fish traps cannot exceed 110 cm in height and 390 cm in diameter, the mesh must be degradable, the minimum mesh size of 50.8 mm, and the minimum depth to anchor fish traps must be 18 meters. "Measures and provisions that are far from the reality offered by the images of the seizure," say from the UGC, from where they point out that the perpetrators face infractions of up to 60,000 euros.

In recent years, according to the association of civil guards, "more than 90" illegal fish traps have been removed from the marine ecosystem of the Canary Islands through "the work that the Maritime Service of Las Palma, as well as its Maritime Detachment, located on the island of Fuerteventura, have been doing impeccably". 

 

The UGC requests a review of the current regulations in the face of "legal loopholes"


From the UGC they affirm that "unscrupulous people in the fishing sector, because not all of them are", "rely on the legal vacuum offered by the rule by not being punished for carrying said illegal fish traps on the boat, being penalized only when they are thrown into the sea." "So they play with the great advantage of throwing them safely, once they do not observe the patrol boat on duty in the vicinity of the area of ​​action," they point out. 

Thus, from the Union of Civil Guards, a representative professional association in the council of the Civil Guard, and specifically from its Environment Federation, they urge the Government of the Canary Islands "to request a review of the current regulations, so that these legal loopholes can be stopped, as well as the uncontrolled plundering of the archipelago's marine fauna."

"Never more accurate in our opinion, in this case, than the moral offered by the fable of the 'Hen of the golden eggs'. The Canary Islands are fortunate for the diversity and quantity of its marine ecosystem, but if we exhaust its resources and shorten its natural regeneration cycles in order to obtain greater results and benefits, we are condemning our future," they emphasize from the UGC, from where they convey a "special thanks" to the Maritime Service, for always being the turning point in the face of these illicit acts, and safeguarding the fishing sector and the marine ecosystem."

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