The Regional Secretary for the Sea, Science and Technology stated in Luxembourg that the position taken by the Azores is "very clear" about the cuts proposed by the European Commission on the red seabream quota for 2017 and 2018, noting that the Regional Government is "adamantly opposed to further cuts."
 
Fausto Brito e Abreu said the Regional Government considers that the "507 tonnes currently assigned to Azorean fishers are insufficient to meet socio-economic needs," adding that "we must allow time for the measures already implemented start producing results."
 
The Regional Secretary for the Sea spoke on the sidelines of the EU Fisheries Council in which he took part as member of the national delegation led by the Minister of the Sea, Ana Paula Vitorino. He delivered to Commissioner Karmenu Vella the study conducted by the Regional Government on the socio-economic impact of the reductions in the red seabream quota. It will be further analysed by the scientists of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea [ICES] and technicians of the European Commission.
 
Brito e Abreu also stressed that "the Government will present the results of the scientific cruise on the analysis of the status of demersal species in the Azores by the end of October." According to him, the data reveal that "the population of red seabream is showing signs of recovery in almost all sampling areas, which cover the nine islands of the archipelago."
 
The Regional Secretary for the Sea highlighted the fact that the agenda of the EU Fisheries Council includes a debate on the position to be taken by the European Union at the next meeting of the Convention for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT). The event takes place in Portugal next month and will address several topics, including the use of fish aggregating devices; the latter affect the migration of tunas along the African coast and may have an impact on tuna fishing in the Azores.
 
In this regard, the government official emphasised the fact that Portugal defends "more restrictions on the use of these technologies and that seine fishing should be handled differently from the pole and line fishing techniques used in the Azores." This position is also defended by the Regional Government and Azorean fishers.