Mediterranean sword, Morocco agreement and technical measures have focused the discussions of Cepesca with the MEPs Clara Aguilera and Gabriel Mato, this week in the European Parliament's Committee on Fisheries

A delegation from the Spanish Confederation of Fisheries (CEPESCA), made up of Pedro Maza, Vice-President of Cepesca and President of the Andalusian Federation of Fisheries Associations (FAAPE), Pedro Hernández, managing director of the Cooperativa de Pescadores de Carboneras (Carbopesca), and Javier Garat, general secretary of Cepesca, attended the European Parliament's Fisheries Commission this week, which addressed important issues for the Spanish fleet. It is worth noting, the presentation of the outcome of the negotiations at the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) to distribute the swordfish of the Mediterranean among the contracting parties. It also discussed European Union-Morocco relations following the Court of Justice's judgment on the Trade Agreement between the two. The representatives of Cepesca, accompanied by the Director General of Fisheries of the Junta de Andalucía, Margarita Pérez, have held meetings with the Spanish MEPs Clara Aguilera, of the European socialist group, and Gabriel Mato, of the European popular group. Aguilera has questioned the effectiveness of the establishment of a TAC (Total Allowable of Captures) for the swordfish of the Mediterranean, as it can cover the laundering of illegal catches with drift nets.

Mr Aguilera, who presented in the EP a motion for a resolution on swordfish fisheries in the Mediterranean and supported by several members of the socialist group of the Committee on Fisheries, shared the position of Cepesca, which had been warning of this laundering since the establishment of a TAC by ICCAT in November 2016. Its proposal supports Cepesca's demand that the allocation of quotas of 7,410 tonnes between EU Member States, take as a reference the historical catches of 2015, since data from previous years could include illegal catches made from drift nets.

On the other hand, several Spanish MEPs, such as Gabriel Mato (European People's Party), Izaskun Bilbao (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe) and Clara Aguilera itself, have demanded in the European Parliament's Committee on Fisheries the prohibition of transshipments at sea in the field of ICCAT - a practice already prohibited by the EU - to prevent illegal fishing of swordfish, tuna and sharks by certain Asian fleets.

In the meeting with Gabriel Mato, rapporteur for the EP report on the proposal for a Regulation on technical measures, the representatives of Cepesca have explained to the Spanish MEP the problems that will be faced by the fishing sector in the Strait of Gibraltar, if a proposal for a European Commission Delegated Act is to be made forward, which aims to include the voracious in this year's ban on discards. The sector, the Junta de Andalucía and the Spanish government maintain that the exception should be allowed for high survival, so that, if the voracero ships fish some voraz of less than 33 cm size, it can be returned alive to the sea.

The Committee on Fisheries has held an exchange of views following the Court of Justice's judgment on the Trade (Agricultural and Fisheries) Agreement between the EU and the Kingdom of Morocco. The European Commission has been clear on this, stating that the judgment on the trade agreement does not, in any case, invalidate the EU-Morocco fisheries protocol. They have also informed the members of the EP that the fisheries protocol is in compliance with international law, that it is applied to surplus species and to maximum sustainable yield, and also includes a clause that states that the local population should benefit from sectoral support.