The Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Water of the Government of the Canary Islands, Juan Ramón Hernández, has signed the Order by which he entrusts the public company Gestión del Medio Rural de Canarias (GMR) with the realization, for 2012, of technical works for the integral maintenance, conservation, protection and support of the Marine Reserve of fishing interest in the surroundings of La Graciosa and islets north of Lanzarote, known as the Chinijo archipelago.
Among the actions to be carried out by this entity are the implementation of biological activities that indicate the evolution of the Reserve, the observation of fishing and shellfish practices carried out within the scope of this protected area, as well as substrates of the seabed; information, signage and control tasks and the collection of any waste observed as well as the detection of possible sources of pollution that occur.
Likewise, they include technical-administrative support actions in the activities authorized by the Vice-Ministry of Fisheries and Water in terms of professional and recreational fishing activities, shellfish harvesting and diving and, ultimately, those measures that favor the proper maintenance and conservation, present and future, of the fishing and shellfish resources of this space.
The marine environment of La Graciosa, the easternmost of the Archipelago, is influenced by the upwelling of cold and rich waters produced on the nearby African coast and largely responsible for the fishing riches of the area, together with the extensive continental shelf that makes the bottoms shallow and therefore quite illuminated. The waters are rich in species of fishing interest as demonstrated by the various artisanal fishing methods.
The Reserve has a rectangular shape and an area of 70,700 hectares, of which 40 percent is in external waters and the remaining 60 in internal waters, so its management is shared between the General State Administration and the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands.
This space was created in 1995 at the initiative of the fishing sector, supported by studies by the Spanish Institute of Oceanography and the University of La Laguna. With this Reserve, the protection already existing in the terrestrial environment is extended to the marine environment, specifically in the Natural Park of the Chinijo Archipelago, located entirely in internal waters.
The area comprised in a circle with a radius of one mile centered on Roque del Este constitutes the integral reserve. Outside that area, professional fishing with hook gear and traditional gear aimed at salema and migratory pelagic species is authorized. Autonomous diving can be practiced with prior authorization as well as recreational fishing - trolling, rod and/or line - beyond two miles from the contour of the integral reserve and 500 meters from the low tide of Roque Oeste and Montaña Clara, in the case of rod and/or line.
Said Order indicates that the Vice-Ministry does not have sufficient personnel to undertake all the indicated actions, which in previous years has meant that public companies such as GMR have been relied upon for their execution.
Said commission, for which an expenditure of 125,000 euros has been approved, is given retroactive effect from January 1, 2012 - the date on which these works have been carried out - and will end on December 31, 2012.
ACN Press