Fisheries Commissioner Costa Kadis to present guidelines to Parliament committees
Fisheries Commissioner Costa Kadis will appear before the various Parliament committees on Wednesday, continuing the hearings of the Commissioners nominated by Ursula von der Leyen. Throughout this week, the European Parliament committees will begin to examine 20 Commissioners nominated by Ursula von der Leyen, as part of the establishment of the new College of Commissioners. Until Thursday, the Commissioners nominated will undergo a rigorous assessment to check their qualifications, both to sit on the College and to perform the specific functions assigned to them within the European Commission.
The confirmation hearings will continue on 12 November and will focus on the five nominees for the executive vice-president posts. The procedure provides that, after the presentation of each candidate, the chairs and representatives of the political groups of the relevant committees will meet quickly to discuss the candidate’s suitability.
At the end of the hearings, the committees will issue their recommendations, which will be assessed by the Conference of Presidents. The latter, made up of the President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, and the leaders of the political groups, will be tasked with declaring the hearings concluded by 21 November.
The European Parliament will then vote on the composition of the College of Commissioners during the plenary session scheduled for 25 to 28 November in Strasbourg, the decision on which will be taken by a majority of votes cast by MEPs.
The Astipeche Group has a total of 28 vessels, including a new addition
The Astipeche Group celebrates a new milestone with the addition of a new vessel. “This new addition reinforces our commitment to offering top quality products to the market,” say its owners. With this expansion, we reaffirm our position as leaders in the sector.
The Maranda Noveno —previously known as Ex Peix 5 and Ex Alumar 3— is the latest addition to the Astipeche Group. It is a freezer vessel measuring 30 metres in length and 7.5 metres in width, with a caterpillar main engine and 2 auxiliary vessels of the same brand, with the capacity to fish using outriggers or through the classic fishing system, thus offering versatility that allows it to adapt to different fishing conditions.
Operation and Target Species
This vessel joins our fleet, which now has 28 Moroccan-flagged vessels. 22 of them are dedicated exclusively to shellfish fishing and 6 are dedicated to cephalopod fishing.
The shellfish harvesters specialize in the capture of species such as white shrimp, carabinero, langoustine, and squid. This incorporation strengthens our leadership in the sector, where we represent almost 50% of the deep-sea shellfish fleet in Morocco.
Logistics and Distribution
The products caught by the fleet are unloaded almost weekly at the base port in Agadir, Morocco. From there, distribution is carried out through an internally controlled logistics network, using our own freezer trucks for export to Spain, where they are sold weekly at auction in Huelva, through our company FISHERIES IFACH SL, exclusive importer.
Employment
The Astipeche Group, under Moroccan law, currently has more than 700 employees between crew and land personnel.
Our packaging – the distinctive emblem of our products – is widely recognised in the market for the excellent quality of the ultra-frozen seafood we offer. Approximately 65% of the exports of ultra-frozen seafood on board from Morocco to Spain are managed by our company from our vessels.
This new addition reinforces our position as leaders in the sector and continues our mission to offer high-quality products, with sustainable fishing and logistics processes, and a firm commitment to the well-being of our employees and the environment.
This company has 28 vessels fishing in Morocco and the Saharan fishing bank; 22 of them focused on catching seafood from the Moroccan fishing ground.
Estonian Long Distance Fisheries Association joins Europêche
Europêche, the foremost representative body for the European Union’s fishing industry, is pleased to announce the addition of the Estonian Long Distance Fisheries Association (ELDFA) to its membership. The new member was unanimously welcomed by Europêche’s General Assembly, marking a significant step forward in amplifying the collective voice of Europe’s fishers.
As one of Estonia’s largest fisheries organizations, the Estonian LDFA represents a diverse range of fishing interests and companies. Its primary operations span multiple fisheries, focusing on species such as northern shrimp, Atlantic cod and Greenland halibut. The association’s main fishing grounds lie in international waters governed by the North Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) and the Northeast Atlantic Fisheries Commission (NEAFC), including areas in the Barents Sea and near Greenland. The association is dedicated to advancing sustainable fishing practices through innovation, enhancing safety at sea, improving traceability, and combating illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
Mati Sarevet, Director of the Estonian Long Distance Fisheries Association, expressed enthusiasm about joining Europêche: “We are excited to work alongside our European counterparts to promote sustainable fishing and secure the resilience of our industry. Europêche membership strengthens our ability to advocate for Estonian fishers and supports sustainable development across Europe. In the face of common challenges, cooperation is essential to protect EU fishing rights and ensure fair, balanced resource management in the international waters of the North-East Atlantic.”
Daniel Voces, Managing Director of Europêche, welcomed the association: “The Estonian Long Distance Fisheries Association is a dynamic and valuable part of Estonia’s fishing sector. We are delighted to have them join the Europêche family. Their expertise, particularly in long-distance fisheries in North Atlantic waters, will be a significant asset as we continue to champion the interests of European fisheries at both the EU and international levels.”
The CSIC points out that 35% of all fish stocks are overexploited
According to data collected in the article ‘Science for sustainable fishing’ in the CSIC Investiga magazine, 35% of all known fish stocks are overexploited. In the case of the Mediterranean, the situation is so dramatic that this figure rises to 60% and the sea that bathes half of the Iberian Peninsula is the second most affected region internationally. Spain’s responsibility cannot be ignored, since it is the country that leads the fishing production of the European Union and the second on the continent, only behind Norway. As if that were not enough, it also figures in the ‘top five’ of the largest long-distance fleets together with powers such as China, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea.
The almost impossible task of controlling illegal fleets
Another drawback is that monitoring that the maximum catches set by governments are respected is almost a utopia. «Long-distance industrial fleets, those of rich countries like China, go to fish in other waters that are governed by more lax regulations or that do not have the capacity to patrol the coast. That is where illegal fishing begins», stresses Costalago, who also does not overlook the obstacles posed by flags of convenience, that is, Western ships that fly the flag of tax havens. In these cases, the problem of overfishing is joined by crimes of corruption or even crimes against humanity and slavery.
There are two particularly dramatic cases of species in danger of extinction due to the depletion of fishing resources: the African penguin and the vaquita porpoise. Scientists estimate that the former, which only survives on the coasts of South Africa and Namibia, will not survive as a species for more than ten years.
40% of the world’s catches are accidental, that is, unwanted, and much of the blame lies with trawling
The second, a black and white mammal about a metre long, will succumb as a consequence of the uncontrolled catches of totoaba, a fish similar to the corvina that is the object of desire of the mafias for its value in traditional Chinese medicine. Although it is not the target, the vaquita marina perishes trapped in the nets. Another victim of accidental fishing. Unfortunately, it is not an exception. A WWF report estimates that 40% of the world’s catches are unwanted. This organisation blames trawling techniques, a practice that also devastates the seabed.
Although it seems that the voracity of the industry swallows everything, the truth is that more sustainable traditional techniques still survive. This is the case of the almadraba, a thousand-year-old ritual that has remained practically intact since pre-Roman times and that uses a complex network of nets to capture tuna that travel from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean through the Strait of Gibraltar. In Spain it is very typical of Cadiz, but it can also be seen in regions of Italy, Morocco, France or Portugal.
Fishing is currently one of the pillars that support food security throughout the planet, not only in areas bathed by seas and oceans, although it is true that there are countries that depend more on this resource than others. At the top are several regions in Asia and Africa, where fish accounts for 50% of all the animal protein consumed by their inhabitants. At the same time, its economic implications are not minor: this sector employs almost 60 million people worldwide. This more than significant weight in global wealth has meant that its repercussions on the environment have been overlooked for decades. But the challenge of finding sustainable fishing methods cannot wait any longer.
The Federation of Artisanal Fishing (FENAPA) requests quotas for red tuna for the artisanal fleet
The Federation of Artisanal Fishing (FENAPA) requests quotas for red tuna for the artisanal fleet. «Our artisanal fleet was not included in the quota or fishing opportunity allocation system. In fact, in the OM/ of that year, it is indicated that both the fishing fleet in the Mediterranean, as well as in the Strait and the Canary Islands, there was an imbalance, due to the lack of information on red tuna catches.»
Thus, FENAPA recalls that «the fleet of minor arts throughout history, has always been dedicated to the directed fishing of red tuna when it crossed the Strait and the Mediterranean for spawning.»
To this end, the Federation considers that it is «essential» that this new Royal Decree and the regulations contemplate the real historical rights of the artisanal fleet, both for red tuna and for other species that are subject to TACs and Quotas. «We must not lose sight of the fact that, at the time, when the distribution criteria were established, one of them was the historical criteria, but they established a period of years in which there was a total ban on the capture of bluefin tuna for the entire fleet of small-scale fishing vessels in the Mediterranean».
They also recall that it is curious that this permanent ban only established a total prohibition on the fleet segment that could never endanger the species, since their hand-line fishing techniques can only capture it one by one. «While this ban or prohibition was established for the fleet segment of small-scale fishing vessels, the fishing industry such as the Mediterranean purse seiners continued to capture bluefin tuna. It is not necessary to reflect much on this and how the distribution criteria for bluefin tuna, swordfish, etc. could have been forged».
At that time, we believe, from our point of view and in light of the decisions and consensus reached, that the artisanal fleet segment would not be adequately defended or lacked representation. «We are in the right context to request that the damages suffered by the fleet segment of the artisanal fleet of the Mediterranean, the Strait, and the Canary Islands be repaired. Comply with these fleet segments and
consider all artisanal fleets in the distribution system and the distribution criteria. Taking into account for this, the artisanal fleets that have historical records that we have accredited in different face-to-face meetings, with the official justification of their historical records prior to the ban established for the recovery of the resource.» For all these reasons, «it is a great injustice that public administrations are allowing the fact that boats with records prior to the bluefin tuna ban can only fish 467 kg of bluefin tuna in a whole year, when they can prove records of 13,000 kg/year, 7,000 kg/year, 30,000 kg/year, 3,000 kg/year, etc.»