Government of the Azores to propose to the European Commission protection measures for the fisheries sector
The Regional Secretary for the Sea, Science and Technology will meet Monday with the European Commission's Director-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, João Aguiar Machado, in Brussels, following the work that has been developed by the Regional Government to raise the awareness of the European Commission for the specificities of the fisheries sector in the archipelago.
At this meeting, Fausto Brito e Abreu will discuss matters related to the fisheries sector, focusing on tuna overfishing and stipulation of the red seabream quota for the next biennia. These issues deserve particular attention on the part of regional authorities and industry partners.
With regard to industrial fishing of tuna in the Atlantic, the Regional Secretary will address the Government's concerns about tuna overfishing by purse seiners and the use of Fish Aggregation Devices (FAD), which contribute to the decline of tuna in the Azores Sea.
The Regional Secretary will also raise the awareness of the European Commission for the importance of acknowledging pole and line techniques used in tuna fishing as a sustainable and environmentally friendly fishing method.
In August, the Regional Secretary for the Sea met with the Secretary of State for Fisheries to request the support of National Government; the latter demonstrated its availability to make representations to the European Commission in order to restrict the use of FADs along the African coast.