June 8, 2010

Hake fishermen of the inshore fleet of Cudillero decided to return to sea and resume fishing after holding a strike last week in response to the catch quota cut proposal made by Spain.

After a meeting convened by the Federation of Fishermen's Guilds and another with the fishermen, the more important heads of the various guilds of the region decided to end the strike and wait for a new formal proposal.

Last week, the Ministry of the Environment and Rural and Marine Affairs (MARM) proposed the hake fishing sector fish only three days a week, which involves extending the banned fishing period two days weekly, and that each boat fish between 100 and 150 kilogrammes per week until the end of the year.

The proposal represents a 90% cut to the quota allocated so far, said the chief of the guild Virgen del Carmen, Salvador Fernández Marqués, to La Nueva España.

"We will return to the sea until all possible means of negotiation are exhausted, we cannot remain on stike any longer, as this creates serious damage to our economies," he said.

"If we do not receive in the short term a worthy proposal to our demands, we will undertake a timely mobilisation and go on strike together with the other ports in Asturias," he added.

Fishermen and politicians in the region expect that the EU "bring forward 10% of the catch quota for next year, which is expected to increase by 15%, so they can survive the rest of the year."

In addition, the sailors expect to widen the weekly rest until Friday, direct the boats to another fishery for a month and bring forward to 2010 the 10% share of 2011, Comercio Digital reports.

On the other hand, the Cudillero fishermen accuse the Galician hake trawl fishing fleet of "fleecing the fishing ground and leaving nothing to the fisherman."