The Under Secretary of Fishing considered that the marine biological resources “are a public asset that should mostly benefit the proximity coastal communities in Horta on Tuesday.

Speaking at the opening of the South Western Waters Regional Advisory Council which is taking place on Faial Island until Thursday, Marcelo Pamplona conveyed his disagreement with the possible implementation of individual transferable quotas, a situation that “will inevitably lead to the privatisation and commercialisation of the fishing possibilities and to the concentration of large-sized companies and vessels.”

However, such a situation “is not compatible with the maintenance of the fishing activity of the outermost region, particularly of the Azorean fishing which is based on a traditional coastal activity with low intensity,” stated the Under Secretary.

As he mentioned, the fact that a specific marine region is clearly defined for the Macaronesia, which included the waters around the Azores, Madeira and the Canary Islands “is a fundamental tool in the definition of the fishing effort in this Atlantic zone.”

On the other hand, Marcelo Pamplona classified as “correct” the fisheries management principle by differentiated marine territories, according to their characteristics, in order to ensure the sustainability of fisheries in different regions and the economic viability of the sector in the long term.

Moreover, he stated that in order to improve the management of Community fisheries, it is fundamental that the European Union “listen carefully the fishers from each marine region,” thereby ensuring a sector that “guarantees the economic and social stability of the different fishing communities in Europe.”

For the Under Secretary of Fisheries, “treating equally the maritime zones with similar characteristics and differently the maritime zones with distinct characteristics” is imperative in this context.

Marcelo Pamplona also defended that the Community management of fisheries must take into account not only the biological and ecological levels, but also the economic and social aspects, so that “a commitment between the available resources in the different maritime zones and the defence of the socio-economic sustainability of the coastal communities” that depend on coastal fishing to ensure their professional activity and prosperity may always exist.

The Under Secretary also considered that the sustainability of the European sea is “endangered in the medium term” unless a management plan of the Community waters based on an access scheme is created “to prevent vessels with greater capacity and autonomy from operating in various Community maritime zones as they are longer profitable in their maritime territories, in international waters or in third countries.”

The excessive accumulation of the fishing effort would lead to a “decline of the prosperity of the regions with maritime tradition and to a rise of unemployment in the fishing communities,” Marcelo Pamplona stated, adding that only the management by marine biogeographic territories may lead to an “correct and harmonious adjustment in the dimension of the Community fleet, according to fishing capacities of the different maritime zones of the European Union.”