Tarragona There is not a single fisherman left in Salou, Pineda or Tossa, and in La Ràpita, where there is one of the most important fishing lodges in Catalonia, there have been days when, despite having a permit, some boats have remained ashore due to lack of crew. The regulations require a minimum number of sailors depending on the size of the boat and it is becoming more and more difficult to find sailors. Some confraternities go to look for fishermen in other countries, mainly from Latin America and Africa, and it is thanks to the immigrants that this tough trade has a minimum of generational relief. But it is not enough. The data speak for themselves: the number of active boats in 2003 in Catalonia was 1,358 and in twenty years it has fallen to less than half (619). The number of fishermen is also suffering a dramatic decline: if there were 5,579 in 1995, now there are only 2,398. “It’s getting more and more difficult to find workers”, laments Joan Balaguer, secretary of the Confraría Verge del Carme de la Ràpita.
The fishing crisis is similar to that suffered by other activities in the primary sector, such as agriculture and livestock, where more and more efforts are needed to be able to carry out the work, while the profits are decreasing.
Fishing data in Catalonia
Evolution of three main indicators in absolute data and variation in percentage for the period
Number of active vessels
Tons of fish caught per year
Number of active vessels
Tons of fish caught per year
Number of active vessels
Tons of fish caught per year
The reasons for this decline in the case of fishing are multiple: the increase in the price of fuel; the climate crisis – which increases the temperature of the sea – or the changes in consumption habits, which have led to less and less fish being eaten and fewer varieties. But, above all, the main reason that is leaving Catalonia without fishermen is the lack of fish.
According to the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean (CGPM), a body that depends on the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), 73% of the species that are traded are overexploited. Some, like the cod tongue, are considered almost extinct, and others, like the popular hake, are going through one of their most critical moments. In the Gulf of León, for example, where there used to be a significant population, “practically there are none left”, according to Josep Lloret, a scientific researcher at the Superior Council of Scientific Research (CSIC) at the Sea Sciences Institute. “The species considered cold water are the ones that suffer the most, because they have to withstand overfishing and the increase in water temperature [motivat per l’escalfament global]”, explains Lloret. Despite everything, the studies they have done analyzing the population of the different species in the Mediterranean show that “the impact on fishing is more important” than that which can be attributed to the climate crisis, as this biologist emphasizes marine
Another very paradigmatic example is the case of the sardine and the anchovy, where bans have been in place for some time but without getting the population to recover. “The fishing takes place in winter, which is not the best season, and for a long time they have suffered from overfishing and also climate change,” says Lloret. These fish feed on plankton, organisms that are increasingly difficult to find, because the rivers that flow into the Mediterranean come down with fewer nutrients. If there are less nutrients, less plankton is generated and the sardines and anchovies run out of food. In fact, it has also been detected that these fish have increasingly poor health and less omega-3.
A forgotten sea
The general director of Maritime Policy and Sustainable Fishing, Sergi Tudela, says that he sees “the glass half full”. He criticizes that “traditionally, the Mediterranean Sea has been neglected in European management, which has focused on Atlantic waters”. For many years, even though scientists warned that ecological resources were being depleted, fishing was not only allowed without bans but, in addition, this activity was encouraged, giving financial aid to buy high-powered boats. “The catches had a peak and have been going down,” says Tudela. It is not until 2019 that Brussels looks south and begins to implement a protection plan to try to restore the fish population. Fishing restrictions, which limit the number of days that fishermen can be at sea, imply a reduction in income in the sector, but it seems that they could be starting to pay off.
First positive indicators
Some indications point to the fact that the bluefish may have found some balance and that its population, at least, remains stable. “We are at a turning point”, says Joan Baptista, biologist and scientific coordinator of IcatMar, an autonomous body between the general direction of Maritime Policy and the CSIC, which depends on the State, which manages maritime competences . Even so, Baptista assures that the fishermen would still have to make more sacrifices and points out that there should be a ban in August, which is when some fish, such as sardines or red shrimp, lay their eggs. The problem is that it is also the time of year when this type of fish has a higher price and its sale gives some oxygen to the fishermen.
Conversely, the increase in temperature has also led to the appearance of new species such as the white prawn, another type of prawn, and the blue crab. Baptista points out that a few years ago there were no specimens of these species and that, nowadays, they already have a significant presence, to the point that the white prawn is already among the four most valuable fishery products in Catalonia.
Baptista also prefers to see the glass half full and calls for eating fish: “It is an almost immaculate product”, he says, and remembers that there are not many foods on the market that reach the consumer without any chemicals being used. “We will reverse this,” he concludes.
2024-01-05 18:50:57
#Catalonia #left #fishermen
