spain

Luis Planas, the Spanish Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, has stated that an alternative will be found for the transportation of Mauritanian fish to Spain. Last year this freight suffered delays and losses due to the blockage of the only road from Mauritania to the north by Sahrawi activists. Mr Planas visited the Mauritanian capital Nouakchott to negotiate with the Mauritanian authorities regarding problems related to the renewal of the Euro-Mauritanian fishing agreement. 

Barcelona based Frime, a specialist in tuna and swordfish, is spending EUR 16 million to construct a new processing facility that will be ready in 2021, quadrupling the company’s current processing capacity of about 10,000 tonnes per year. The family-owned business has expanded its turnover incredibly over the last decade and anticipates this will continue. Demand is strong in Hungary, Poland, the US, Central America, and Asia, Salva Ramon, Frime’s CEO, points out.

ICCAT, the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna, the regional fisheries management body responsible for the conservation of tuna and tuna-like species in the Atlantic and adjacent seas, concluded negotiations at its 26th regular sesion by adopting a 15-year rebuilding plan for bigeye tuna. Although an imperfect plan in the eyes of many, it’s adoption was significant progress compared to the session last year, when the 52 contracting parties failed to agree on measures to protect the stock despite clear advice from the commission’s own scientists on the need to significantly reduce catches. The adopted plan reduces the total allowable catch forcing countries to make significant cuts to their current catches, a stricter limit on the number of fish aggregating devices (FAD) permitted per vessel, as well as an Atlantic-wide closure of FADs for two months in 2020 and three months in 2021. FAD closure was previously restricted to the Gulf of Guinea for two months. Other business conducted during the 8-day meeting included amending the 50-year-old ICCAT convention to provide the commission with a mandate to manage sharks and rays, which will help in the fight against IUU fishing, and the adoption of a measure to implement rebuilding efforts for Atlantic blue marlin and white marlin stocks.

A new publication in Spanish, Acuicultura marina. Granjas marinas de peces. Diseño y operación (Marine aquaculture.…

Aquaculture in Spain 2019 is the latest edition of APROMAR’s annual report depicting the development of the aquaculture sector in Spain and Europe.…

In June Spanish consumers were able to buy the first tins of tuna bearing the AENOR Conform Responsibly Fished Tuna logofrom Spanish distributors shelves. The seal affirms to consumers that the product comes from a sustainable, socially responsible source. The certification logo only goes on products containing tuna fished by vessels certified under the Responsibly Fished Tuna Standard and belonging to a Comprehensive Fishery Improvement Program (FIP). The FIP ensures that vessels and their crews maintain the highest standards in environmental conservation. This certificate guarantees that the fish which distributors are marketing and consumers are eating have been caught by companies and vessels held to social, labor and maritime safety standards above what the law currently requires.

Organización de Productores Asociados de Grandes Atuneros Congeladores (OPAGAC) is an association of nine frozen tuna seiner fishing shipowners.…

To date no record of microplastics has been discovered in marine farmed fish. However, media attention on this issue grows exponentially and has a direct impact on consumers purchasing seafood products.…

A positive outlook for rainbow trout and the insufficient use of available EMFF funds are among the observations in recent examinations of Spain’s aquaculture sector. A report from APROMAR says the situation after a 2016 judgement by Spain’s Supreme Court declaring that rainbow trout was an invasive species has been addressed by the Congress of Deputies. The report stated that APROMAR welcomed this as step in the right direction to return to normalize the cultivation of such an important species in Spain as rainbow trout. Rainbow trout enjoys a growing market in Europe, and several countries, from Turkey to Denmark, are leaders in its production. Spain’s expertise in aquaculture technology and marketing make rainbow trout a promising area for economic investment. APROMAR also described the “disappointingly scarce use” of the European Maritime and Fisheries Fund (EMFF). The report stated that for practical purposes the development of aquaculture activities in Natura 2000 areas was very scarce and that applications to the EMFF continued to be insufficient and even reached historical lows when it was below 15%. There are even parts of the EMFF that have not yet been launched, such as the Financial Instrument, which is essential for large aquaculture companies to access support for fish processing and distribution.

Recommendations by The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) sees a drastic reduction in fishing opportunities for mackerel (Scomber Scombrus) in 2019. ICES recommended a reduction of 42%, which would seriously affect the Cantabrian coastal fleet. Such a drastic reduction comes off the back of the latest ICES study on the population of mackerel. Scientists from ICES suggest that the total catches should not exceed 318 403 tonnes in 2019. For 2018, The European Union, Norway and the Faroe Islands agreed to a quota of 816 797 tonnes. 550 948 tonnes above the limit recommended by ICES for 2019. Reasoning behind such a drastic reduction is twofold. The decrease in the spawning biomass since 2011 and a fishing mortality that biologists consider is above the maximum sustainable yield (MSY). If these recommendations are followed it would leave the EU with approximately half of the 318 043 tonnes due to distributions it makes with Norway and the Faroe Islands. Due to EU allocations Spain would have 76 % of the total or equivalent to 11 927 tonnes.