Minister of the Sea, Alfonso VillaresToday, communications and participation in sessions intensified during the second day of the 51st The General Assembly of the Conference of Oceanic Marine Regions (CRPM) was held in Saint-Malo, France, with the aim of forming a major common front for all European and British regions where the marine fishing sector is essential and strategic. This event represents an opportunity to realize this grand alliance, as the CPMR, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary, brings together a total of 150 regions from 24 EU countries and the United Kingdom with a population of more than 200 million people.
The Xunta representative appreciated the presence of the community in this large forum of the regions as essential. “We consider it extremely important to be here at this conference to raise our voices on behalf of our marine fishing sector, in defense of the men and women who live and want to continue to live from our sea,” he said, “for which and today, they have made” such essential alliances , from all European regions, with the common goal of highlighting the work of our seafarers and the quality of their products.
Alfonso Villares pointed out that today Europe produces 30% of the fish it consumes, so it is necessary to ensure food sovereignty and ensure the recognition of professionals who have been confirmed as essential during the pandemic and are an example in sustainability from Brussels. “We cannot continue to impose vetoes and obstacles,” he told the European Commission. He also stressed that “the fact of co-chairing the Fishing Section of the CPMR will be very important because in this way we will be able to transfer the defense of the basic activity in the best way and always together with the sector”. “For Galicia.”
The Chief of the Sea held a working meeting with the Vice-President of the Sea and Coast of Brittany, Daniel Cuif, his counterpart in the French region with which the Galician community has shared, since Wednesday, the presidency of the Central Maritime and Coastal Working Group. CPMR Fisheries, a joint leadership and alliance that was sought to be further strengthened. At this meeting, which was also attended by the Chairman of the Saint-Malo Fisheries Commission, Philippe Orvillon, the common problems and requirements of the French and Galician sectors were analysed, focusing on issues such as rising fuel prices or Impact of restrictions on bottom fishing imposed by the European Commission.
There is complete agreement among CPMR fishing leaders that I object to bottom gearing in 87 areas of the North East Atlantic Ocean or restrictions on trawling included in the Fisheries Conservation Action Plan, where there is a lack of scientific rigor and social and economic impact analyzes are left out. Aside. On the other hand, the sector requires more determined support from Brussels, especially in the face of the crisis that began with the pandemic and now continues with the Russian invasion of Ukraine or growing tensions in the Middle East.
The effects of climate change on fishing and shellfish fishing activity and the importance of cooperation between the sector, organizations and scientific centers to find solutions to the problems generated in the sea, from rising water temperatures to increasingly powerful storms that punish ocean salinity, were also discussed, especially in areas such as Galicia and estuaries.
Alfonso Villares resumed his agenda at the CPMR meeting in the presence of the Atlantic Arc Committee, where he considered DThe Cardiff Declaration 2023, which assumes the establishment of a pan-Atlantic response, will be justified and considered a priority for Galicia.
Following this, the Minister of the Sea attended the institutional opening session of the major annual event for the peripheral regions of the Old Continent and the United Kingdom, which included the participation of the former President of the European Commission, José Manuel Durão Barroso, and the Greek Minister. Minister of Maritime Affairs and Island Policy, Christos Stylianides, Secretary of State for European Union Affairs, Pascual Navarro, and John-Marit Helgesen, outgoing President of the Moroccan Communist Party (from Vestfold og Telemark, Norway). Eleni Mariano, Secretary General of the CPMR, was responsible for presenting the report on the organisation’s activities.
The Regional Director’s program also included visits to workshops, fishing industries and local seafood producers with the aim of gaining a better understanding of the similarities and common challenges facing professionals in both French Brittany and Galicia, with the aim of clarifying commonalities. Solutions are always with the help of the sector, as Alfonso Villares pointed out.
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