Portugal’s Minister of the Sea, Ana Paula Vitorino, said today that the proposed 15-year sardine fishing ban, as proposed by the European Commission’s scientific advisors, is "unthinkable."
Vitorino, was speaking to the press during her protocol signing visit to Portimão, (here) stating that Portugal’s sardine catch for next year will be set this October after the species is monitored during August “with three scientific expeditions by staff from the Portuguese Institute Sea and Atmosphere (IPMA) to assess the state of the stock."
"Decisions will be taken in October, as planned and according to the data that exist at that time," said Vitorino, stressing that the definition and assessment of sardine stocks for Portugal is a matter “for the European Commission but not fixed by the European Commission."
The minister said that "fishing stocks and quotas are a matter between Portugal and Spain, because this is a jointly managed sector," and quotas will be set "according to the assessments of fish stocks and in intense dialogue with the sector.”
"As we did last year, we are working with fishermen this year because this is management using scientific data, with real time data, because the fishermen themselves can give very important data on the state of fish stocks. They are extremely knowledgeable: when stocks are good, they say they’re good and when they're bad, they say so," she explained.
Vitorino said that the ministry will "continue to work with them," but stressed that "fixing the quotas can only be done in October."
"But we will never stop fishing, let alone for a period of 15 years, that would be unthinkable," she said despite recognising that climate change and the warming of the oceans is a problem for sardines and other species.
"In fact climate change has caused changes in the migratory flows of several species and those that were mostly off the southern countries are now also appearing in the northern countries, looking for water with the colder temperatures that used to exist along our coast," said the minister.
