The Minister of Agriculture, Food and Environment (MARM) of Spain, Miguel Arias Cañete, will ask Commissioner of Fisheries of the European Union (EU), Maria Damanaki, to speed up the new fisheries agreement with Morocco next Tuesday.
In addition, the Spanish Minister will ask the EU executive to arbitrate a specific measure that allows to compensate the fishing industry for the stagnation resulting from a decision totally alien to the fishing business, said the MARM.
The Spanish government estimates that the compensation requested could reach EUR 30 million.
“It is a priority for the Government of Spain to resume talks as soon as possible with Morocco for attaining a new agreement that has great economic and social impact as it affects 64 Spanish ships, 40 of them are Andalusian, and 500 direct jobs “, said Arias Cañete in Madrid after meeting with the Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries of the Junta de Andalucía, Clara Aguilera.
In addition, Arias Cañete committed to defend the Spanish fishing sector: “The Ministry is very open to the street and I hope to be a minister who hears and solves,” he said.
He also pointed out that the Moroccan government is willing to reach an agreement,” and was confident this will occur within a “very reasonable” time, reported EFE agency.
Finally, the minister said about the fishing agreement with Mauritania that “negotiation is well advanced.”
For his part, Aguilera emphasized the drama fishermen in the Gulf of Cadiz are going through as they can not fish in Morocco” from 14 December, 2011.
This stoppage primarily affects vessels from Barbate, Conil and Algeciras.
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