31/08/2005 00:00
TW
0

MANY of the trawlers which are operating around the Balearic Islands don't comply with the laws which regulate this type of boat, said the European Director of the Oceana ecology organisation, Xavier Pastor. The majority of these trawlers use engines which are more powerful than they should be, and they also capture fish in areas where it is forbidden to fish, the Oceana Director added. Furthermore, the nets that these fishing boats use do not comply with the standards established in the state law, which is aimed at regulating the activity of the trawler fleets in Spain. Some town councils have installed artificial reefs to stop the trawlers catching the volumes of fish that they currently do, and to stop them putting the Mediterranean biological diversity in danger. The Spanish trawlers, which mainly come from ports in Andalucia, Murcia, Alicante and the Balearic Islands, also catch between 20'000 and 40'000 examples of turtles each year via their “illegal” nets. The Oceana Director commented that the ecosystems in the Mediterranean sea are in a “worrying” position, and he is urging all the different town councils and administration departments to “undertake short term measures” to stop the deterioration of the sea, as well as to stop the capture of turtles and other cetaceans. Xavier Pastor made these comments yesterday during the presentation of the agreement which has been signed by Oceana ecological organisation and the Biodiversity Foundation, to work together on a study of the marine life and turtle populations in different areas of the Atlantic and Mediterranean sea. The Director of the Biodiversity Foundation was also present yesterday.
Already they have carried out research in the marine reservations at the Malgrats and El Toro islands, in Calvia.