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The Twenty-seven achieved this Thursday, after almost 24 hours of uninterrupted negotiations, close an agreement on the annual distribution of Total Allowable Catches (TACs) and fishing quotas for the Atlantic and the North Sea and the plan for the Mediterranean, which to a large extent reached an agreement earlier as it was the first time it had taken action presence in this traditional annual negotiation. As FARO advanced, the EU has decided extend the quotas affected by the departure from the United Kingdom during the first quarter of the year, making it possible to fish 25% of what was agreed for 2020.
In some of the species, such as mackerel, blue whiting and horse mackerel, it will increase to around 65% of the TAC during those three months. “The decision is a good starting point,” said the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, according to EFE.
The agreement, which according to the current president, the German Julia Klöckner, was reached after “long and difficult negotiations”, finally includes a reduction in hake and sole from Iberian waters (VIIIc and IXa), although lower than those initially proposed: in the first case the decrease went from almost 13% to 5%, while the second went from 41% to 20%.
Similarly, the EU Fisheries Ministers have agreed to reductions for Norway lobster in zone IXa (waters of Portugal and Cádiz, with -3.1%) and for sole and pollock from waters west of France (Vabde zone ), with -20% and -7% respectively.
In the case of the (western) Mediterranean, the EU has adopted a reduction of days of activity of 7.5% for the trawl fleet.
“The negotiations have been long and complicated but I can rate the agreement reached as a good agreement on the fishing opportunities for the Spanish fleet in 2021 “, Planas assured in a press conference, according to Europa Press. The Regional Minister of the Sea, Rosa Quintana, has made a first impression through her official Twitter account:
