Brussels, 08/11/2013 (Agence Europe) - Spain and Ireland have called for a 26% increase, end 2013, in fishing possibilities for northern hake. The European Commission has agreed to the request, albeit controversial, and has included it in a proposal aimed at amending certain total allowable catches (TACs) and quotas for 2013. Discussions on the dossier could be held next week within the Committee of Permanent Representatives of Member States of the EU (Coreper). The issue is highly sensitive for six countries: Spain, France, Ireland, Denmark, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom.
Some of the countries concerned by this stock have not taken the significant rise in TAC for northern hake kindly. The countries that have difficulties with this increase regret that the Commission did not carry out a socio-economic analysis showing the impact of this rise in TAC on certain fishing fleets before accepting the request. In particular, French fishermen are worried. They underline that they have spread the use of their hake quota over twelve months and call for controls to be stepped up, which may not necessarily be the case.
Spain and Ireland consider the rise is a lifeline for many boats that have exhausted or nearly exhausted their northern hake quota. The rise would, above all, allow some 30 boats from Galicia to continue fishing hake in November and December. Spain is hoping for a rise of 4,019 tonnes in its northern hake quota, and may well get it. For 2014, the European Commission proposed a strong rise in TAC for northern hake (+49%), which gives Spain arguments to back its request. (LC/transl.jl)