Andrés Hermida values the effort to integrate policies for the sustainable management and exploitation of resources with those for the protection of the marine environment

The Secretary General of Fisheries of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and the Environment, Andrés Hermida, has valued the effort made by the entities that have presented marine conservation and fisheries projects “to integrate the policies of management and sustainable exploitation of resources, with those of protection of the coast and the marine environment”, with which “the fishing sector is reinforced in the long term”. Hermida pointed out.
 
A total of 28 projects presented by public and private entities, which have been beneficiaries of the call for aid co-financed by the European Fisheries Fund (EFF) and the Ministry through the Biodiversity Foundation, which has acted as an Intermediate Management Body, and whose results have been presented today at the General Secretariat of Fisheries.
 
An event in which the co-financed projects were announced, distributed in five blocks: Discards and waste; Selectivity of marine gear and reserves; Protection and conservation of fishery resources and reduction of by-catches; Aquaculture and Awareness and ICT.
 
A STRATEGIC SECTOR
In this presentation, the Secretary General underlined the strategic nature of the fishing sector in Spain, as it generates 1,238,745 tonnes of fishery products with an economic value of more than 2,600 million euros.
 
It also has, Hermida pointed out, a prominent role in the social and economic development of many areas of our geography, contributing to the creation of quality employment, especially among the most vulnerable groups.
 
For this reason, he has opted to make fishing activity more attractive for young people, stressing that it is “a modern way of life that contributes to a better diet of our society and a better preserved environment” and to promote the role of women who “already represent 14% of employment in the fishing sector at European level, and at the national level around 36%”.
 
ECOLOGICAL WEALTH
Hermida also valued the bioclimatic conditions of the Spanish flora and fauna which, in his opinion, “are unique and provide us with remarkable ecological and marine wealth”, which is why he advocated “increasing efforts within the framework of the European Union’s biodiversity strategy for 2020”.
 
In this sense, he highlighted the “key role” of the Natura 2000 Network and the LIFE+ INDEMARES project, which has achieved the protection of 8% of our marine environment, bringing us closer to the 10% goal set by the Convention on Biological Diversity for 2020″.
 
Finally, Hermida insisted that the results of the projects translate into concrete improvements for the sector and biodiversity, such as the reduction of escapes from aquaculture facilities; the minimisation of accidental catches of birds on fishing vessels, or the better management of resources, through the reinforcement of methods for estimating the abundance of fish species of interest. Also with regard to improving gear selectivity and reducing by-catches; the promotion of ecotourism or the strengthening of collaboration between fishermen and the scientific community.
 
These projects are the best example that the Spanish fishing sector is firmly committed to its sustainability by leading and actively participating in initiatives that link fishing, aquaculture, processing and marketing activities with the protection and conservation of the environment, Hermida concluded.