Olhãopesca, the Algarve Fishing Producers Organisation, is incensed that surveillance by the Portuguese maritime authorities is at "almost zero" when dealing with Spanish fishing boats operating in Portuguese waters.
There is the Guadiana Border Agreement in place which should keep Spanish boats away from Portuguese waters but this is being ignored.
More than 20 Spanish fishing boats have been operating with a "total disregard of the daily catch limits per vessel, the minimum fish sizes and the operating limits which puts into question all the efforts and sacrifices carried out by the Portuguese fishing sector in the defence and preservation of fish stocks," according to Olhãopesca.
Seven Spanish boats are catching sardines, mackerel and horse mackerel and others are fishing by dragging their nets along the Portuguese seabed to catch clams and other shellfish.
Vessels operating under the Guadiana Agreement are allowed to fish in certain parts of Portuguese waters but must respect local restrictions.
"Observed over many years, Olhãopesca and its members know that the Spanish owners working in Portuguese waters under the agreement do not respect the management of resources put in place by the Portuguese fishing sector and the State."
The Spanish are exceeding the permissible hours, exceeding daily catch limits per vessel, ignoring minimum sizes of for certain species and fishing within the Portuguese boundary.
Olhãopesca say that Portuguese vessels covered by the agreement do not fish off the Spanish coast because "it is depleted by over-exploitation" and therefore ship owners based in the eastern Algarve have concluded that the Guadiana agreement should be scrapped as it is one-sided.
The organisation cites the case of the humble yet important sardine, with Spanish vessels able to start catching the fish as from March 1st while the Portuguese boats can only land sardines in the summer.
"Seven Spanish vessels operating in Portuguese waters are catching sardines every day in our waters and selling them at auction in Andalusia, with control and monitoring by maritime authorities virtually nil."
