Aquaculture for all

Spain Will Meet Commitment to Discards, says Minister

Sustainability Politics +2 more

SPAIN - The Minister of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Isabel Garca Tejerina, has said that Spain will meet its commitment and submit to the Commission, before 1 July, a regional plan for ending fish discards.

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In her appearance before the media, after the Council of Ministers for Agriculture and Fisheries of the EU, the minister pointed out that, in general, all groups completed their regional discard plans on schedule, "something that is very important because they contain the necessary flexibility measures in suppressing discards established in the Common Fisheries Policy."

On this question, the minister recalled that Spain made good negotiations on the Common Fisheries Policy and succeeded in introducing elements of flexibility.

The minister, who has insisted that Spain is contrary to the abolition of minimum size, has indicated that this deletion is not reflected in the proposal of the Greek Presidency and therefore is not included in the compromise proposal of the Council.

As stressed, "our country is working for sustainable fisheries, to ensure the future of the Spanish fishing industry." To the minister, the way forward is to rely on strict adherence to scientific reports and, from there, maximum sustainable yields. "And one of the important steps of sustainable fisheries is the maintenance of minimum sizes, and we do not want to go back in this area," she insisted.

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