Life at sea is one of the most difficult that exists. The solitude in the middle of the ocean and the marathon days away from home to track the marine space in search of sustenance to maintain their family economies make the fishing sector one of the most sacrificed. A harshness that has forced many to look outside the sea for a less demanding job that allows them to be closer to their families.
To the difficulties involved in going out every morning to the immensity of the sea, often without a return date, are added other administrative inconveniences and diplomatic that add new obstacles to an activity that, by itself, entails many efforts. This is the specific case of the tuna fishermen from the Canary Islands, who this week have exhausted in just over a day the very limited quota set by the international community and accepted by the State for the Islands.
Many are the onslaughts that one of the most traditional sectors of the Canarian economy has had to weather. Very hard onslaughts that have caused in recent decades the scrapping of many vessels and the constant flight of fishermen towards more stable professions. It is true that the solution is is almost always found in the international community, which sets the quotas and agreements between countries, but it is also true that Spain has not acted with sufficient forcefulness to achieve an agreement that, at least, puts in equality of opportunities to the Canarian fleet with respect to vessels from other countries that, in addition, have no qualms when it comes to violating the rules and limits set in the capture of species such as the prized bluefin tuna.
Despite the fact that the open season for tuna lasts until the next day 1 of June, the fishermen have only needed a little more than a day to reach the limit set for our fleet. The ban was opened on Monday, March 24, and little more than 24 hours later the fleet had to return to the assigned ports when reaching the 52 tons authorized by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment. Environment. It was the chronicle of a more than predictable situation.
The route through which the tuna travel next to the Canary Islands is one of the richest on the planet and everything pointed to the fact that the quota was so insignificant that, even, many boats would be left without the option of going fishing, as happened in the island of La Palma and Gran Canaria, in which they were affected by a storm that prevented them from joining the start of a campaign for which they had been preparing a lot of time. Double frustration in their case.
Desperation has taken hold among professionals who impassively witness the passage of tuna through our waters without being able to do absolutely anything to capture one of the most coveted species and thus guarantee the resources they need to contribute to the maintenance of their respective family economies.
The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, body that distributes quotas among European countries, reserved a maximum of 2,500 tons for Spain and this, in the distribution of the same among the communities fishing companies, set only 52 tons for the Islands, that is, barely two percent.
The handout that the Government of Spain managed to increase from 29 to 52 the tons assigned to the Canarian fleet not only meant a failure in the international negotiations but, in addition, will have secondary effects: will further deepen the crisis that afflicts a sector that needs, as always has demanded, a firmer and more decisive support to those who have in their hand the possibility of defending their right not to be less than the professionals of other Autonomous Communities and other nations in the complicated puzzle of the negotiations imposed by countries with more interests in this sector.
The Canarian vessels demand to reach 210 tons and their proposal even has the endorsement of environmental organizations that ensure the sustainable development of the capture of a species punished by those who act unscrupulously in a market plagued by commercial interests on a global scale.
The fishermen of the Islands only ask that Madrid understand that the Canary Islands cannot continue to be a secondary actor in a scenario in which it aspires to be treated as a power capable of contributing to the economic development of the Archipelago.
Critical voices with the Government of the State multiply in Lanzarote, La Palma, Fuerteventura, Tenerife or Gran Canaria. "It's an abuse," said this week the chief patron of the Gran Tarajal brotherhood. An abuse that the patron of the brotherhood of Agaete believes would be solved if between 7 and 9 percent were assigned to the Canary Islands percent of the quota that corresponds to Spain. A fair claim and that, in addition, reflects that greed is not part of the language of a sector that, with its feet on the ground, demands exclusively the minimum that corresponds to it. Not a kilo more.
Ana Oramas, deputy of the Canarian Coalition