In a
2010 report Greenpeace stated: “The Spanish government has encouraged the
development of excessive and destructive fishing practices such as bottom
trawling, purse seining and long lining. It has supported illegal ‘pirate’
fishing through fishing subsidies, and seems unwilling or unable to effectively
prosecute Spanish companies who fish illegally.” It is that same Spanish fishing
armada that has until recently raped Gibraltar’s waters, which are British
waters, and the Gibraltar government is now insisting its environmental laws
are upheld to stop the destruction of its marine environment.
In
writing this article two statistics stayed with me that described the size of
the problem facing Gibraltar. According to Greenpeace if you were to line up
all Spanish fishing vessels, bow to stern, they would stretch for a distance of
123 kilometres. Whilst in a Gibraltar Ornithological & Natural History
Society (GONHS) paper dated 1999 by its then general secretary and now
Gibraltar’s Environment Minister, Dr John Cortes, he stated: “The fact is that
the average tramallo (bottom laid net) can be anything up to 1250 metres long
while Gibraltar's coastline is only some 14 kilometres in length. Sixty four
per cent of that coastline is taken up for commercial purposes; leaving only 36
per cent natural coastline where such fishing if allowed could realistically take
place. A single net is equivalent to 11 per cent of our overall coastline…The
fishing is neither sustainable nor sufficient.”
So
what are Gibraltar’s waters? They are defined by the Geneva Convention of 1958
and Spain is a signatory to this Convention. The waters in question are three
miles off the Rock to east and south and a median line in the bay to the west
on the other side of which sits the Spanish port of Algeciras. Gibraltar had to
play catch up in the 1980s on its environmental laws but in 1991 its parliament
passed the Nature Protection Act which is the legislation currently being
enforced by the GSLP Liberal Government.
When
Gibraltar’s new government was returned in December it fell on its feet by
having Dr John Cortes on hand to step in as its environment minister. His
qualifications and credentials are internationally recognized and as long as a
Spanish bottom laid net. He was General Secretary of the respected NGO the
Gibraltar Ornithological & Natural History Society, a post he had held
since its creation in 1976 and before becoming a minister was the Director of
the Gibraltar Botanic Garden since 1991. It is worth noting he was also a director
of Spain’s Parque Natural de Los Alcornocales: so is highly respected on both
sides of the border.
I
asked Dr Cortes about the current dispute with Spain’s fishermen and the Nature Protection Act 1991: what specifically does it prohibit? The
minister stated: “It specifically prohibits the use of seine and gill nets in
British Gibraltar Territorial Waters. Seabed raking and the use of artificial
lights for attracting fish are also illegal under the aforementioned Act. These methods, including drift nets as well as
long lines are used by Spanish fishermen in our waters.”
These measures were enacted in 1991 in order to safeguard marine habitats
and species within Gibraltar’s waters that were being negatively affected by
commercial fishing activities. Dr Cortes added: “In order to further protect
the marine biodiversity the Southern Waters of Gibraltar were designated as a
Site of Community Importance under the EU’s Habitats Directive. This
designation was approved by the Commission in July 2006.”
Between 1991 and 1997 the Act was enforced by the Royal Gibraltar
Police. While some fishing occurred,
this was without sanction and the Police effected arrests and prosecutions on a
number of occasions. It was following such an arrest, a campaign was started by
Spanish fishermen to press the Gibraltar Government to allow them to fish. In 1999, after the fishermen blockaded the
Gibraltar frontier, a ‘Joint Understanding’ was accepted by the fishing
federations of the border town of La Línea as well as Algeciras across the bay
and the then Chief Minister Peter Caruana. It allowed Spanish fishing vessels
to fish in Gibraltar’s waters using methods illegal under the Nature Protection
Act 1991.
So what are the implications of the new Gibraltar Government rescinding the
illegal 1999 ‘Joint Understanding’? Dr Cortes explained it now follows that the
Royal Gibraltar Police, who are not controlled by the government, are free to
use their own discretion in enforcing applicable laws that prevent the use of
illegal fishing methods under the Nature Protection Act 1991.
The minister continued: “As circumstantial evidence strongly indicates that
marine resources continue to decline, and in keeping with the precautionary
principle, a revised system for the protection of marine resources, which will
include regulation is currently being developed by my ministry for the
Government of Gibraltar.”
During the past 3 months the enforcing of the Nature Protection Act 1991
has hit the news headlines as the Spanish fishing fleets have been banned from
raping Gibraltar’s waters. This has led to illegal incursions by up to 12
fishing boats, sometimes escorted by a Guardia Civil armed patrol boat, to
which the Royal Gibraltar Police or Royal Navy have had to respond. The fishing
vessels had deployed seine nets and used artificial light lures: both
prohibited under Gibraltar law. It is against this background that discussions
have taken place between the Government of Gibraltar and the fishing
confraternities of La Línea and Algeciras regarding commercial fishing within
Gibraltar’s waters. Dr Cortes noted: “These discussions took place as a direct
result of the Gibraltar Government rescinding the 1999 ‘Joint Understanding’
and the impact that this would have on the ability of the local Spanish fleets
to continue fishing.”
The fishing grounds around Gibraltar have been over exploited and the
fishermen themselves accept that catches have declined seriously. It is ironic that as a result, protected
areas including no-fishing zones and time restrictions have been applied by the
Spanish authorities in their own waters: and would be extended to Gibraltar if
its British waters were Spanish.
On a final note Dr Cortes stated: “The presence of rocky reefs in
Gibraltar’s territorial waters is attractive both to fish and to
fishermen. This is one of the reasons
why Gibraltar has created this protected area, one of the considerations being
to provide refuge, feeding and breeding opportunities for fish, something which
will be of benefit to fishermen in adjacent areas, as well as to all marine
life.”
(The above article appeared in the London Progressive Journal on May 29
2012 and on various US environmental websites)
