This model, disputed by local fishermen, has delayed quotas until the end of 2018 and must be implemented
On July 1st the ban on bluefish fishing for vessels above 12 metres is expanding to the northern area of the Croatian territorial Adriatic sea, as Poslovni Dnevnik reports on June 27, 2016.
This includes the area of the Velebit channel, Rijeka bay and Kvarner and an area two nautical miles from the coast of western Istria, almost entirely fishing zone E. Local fishermen have reluctantly accepted this decision, but their argument that the ban is a result of activity by Dalmatian lobbies does not hold water.
In fact, the same limit is in power from March of this year for zones G and F, covering the inner sea along the Split-Dalmatia and Zadar counties. By the end of the year the fishing ban will cover 37 percent of Croatian territorial waters.
“This was the least painful solution,” believes Ante Mišura, Deputy Agriculture Minister for fishing. The European Commission has, he reminds fishermen, due to scientific assessment of the grave endangerment of fish stocks, demanded of all EU member states restrictive management plans to reduce fishing or introduction of quotas.
“Other vessels are free to fish in the open sea, where the Italians fish too, aided by the long standing low price of fuel. This model has delayed quotas until the end of 2018 and must be implemented with discipline,” states Mišura and reminds fishermen this is not a whim of the administration but a measure guaranteeing them a sustainable future. By introducing quotas, he explains, the current fleet would have to be reduced by 50 percent.
Croatian fishermen have been facing for the last several years a fishing ban of 180 days per year, but have been receiving compensation averaging 5.33 million Euro annually since entering the EU. In less than a month on July 25th, a one year ban on fishing in the Jabuka ravine expires, agreed upon jointly by government in Zagreb, Rome and Ljubljana. Mišura estimates it would be good to extend that ban for another two years. “Considering the zone is a primary hatchery for demersal species and endangerment has reached 93%, only a three year ban could bring a recovery of reserves.
Other projects worth mentioning include cooperation with local administration in constructing fishing ports. Plentiful European support amounting to 41.5 million Euro is available, but since the law is waiting for a new parliamentary assembly, projects are being prepared so tenders can be published as soon as the Parliament adopts the law. Krk already has a building permit, Lamjana and Gaženica are in the final phase and they’re working on Sustjepan, Bužine, Rogoznica and Biograd. Istria is still searching for a solution, with the best position being Zonka, a former military location that needs government approval.
