another serious incident in Gibraltar Territorial Waters (GTW) between Spanish commercial fishermen using drift nets and local anglers.

 

There has been yet another serious incident in Gibraltar Territorial Waters (GTW) between Spanish commercial fishermen using drift nets and local anglers.  Every year at around this time GFSA gets reports from local anglers that they are being harassed, threatened and assaulted by Spanish commercial fishermen that have let out long drift nets on the East Side. These nets, that are in excess of 1000 metres in length (1 km), are allowed to drift on the currents off our coast line within GTW.  They target Flying Fish, Bonito and Frigate Mackerel; indiscriminately kill Dolphins, Sea Turtles and small whales like Pilot Whales, that are all protected species that get caught up in them, and they pose a serious danger to shipping because they can get caught in by the propellers of craft passing over them.  And do not think that these incidents are infrequent because hundreds of mammals are killed each year in GTW and GFSA gets scores of complaints and reports of harassment.  You do not see the damage because it is hidden away by the fishermen or the people involved in these incidents do not see any point in taking them further as they have no confidence in the police. Small pleasure boats that anchor to fish at popular reefs on the East Side can become entangled by these nets and once entangled it can sink these small craft easily. Often when you find yourself in such a situation the only action you can take to save your self and your boat is to cut your anchor rope (an expensive and unnecessary financial loss for which the boat-owner cannot seek recompense).  Many times it is the Spanish fishermen who hurling abuse at you and threatening you with violence, come alongside your vessel and cut your anchor rope.  What and who gives them the right to do this in our waters?  Why should the illegal activities of Spanish commercial fishermen put local anglers at risk of assault, damage to boats and gear or worse?  GFSA will hold this Government responsible if something serious were to happen to any of its members or indeed any angler that becomes involved in such incidents at sea whilst fishing. The fishermen never just lay one net and on the day of the incident, that was widely reported in the press, the 2 local anglers involved told GFSA that they had seen another 5 of these nets and they had been forced to head towards and anchor at one of the fishing marks off Eastern Beach to fish.  Both anglers when interviewed later said that they had not realised that another drift net had been let out in the vicinity of where they were anchored and as they tried to free themselves from that net they were assaulted by armed Spanish fishermen. If they had seen the net then they would not have anchored at the mark and would not have been able to fish in any part of GTW on the East Side because there were so many drift nets impeding access to all the popular reefs on that day.  This is totally unacceptable and GFSA denounces the lack of good sense, decisiveness and initiative on the part of this Government for not acting to ban and actively stop the use of these types of nets in GTW that are illegal all over the European Union.  So GFSA wants to know why it is that our Chief Minister allows this to type of fishing in our waters when the Nature Protection Act 1991 bans the use of all nets, rakes and pots in GTW.  This law can be used today, immediately to ban the use of drift nets and GFSA calls on them to act now before there is a more serious confrontation at sea involving our citizens.  The Chief Minister cannot hide behind the Algeciras Agreement on this issue he should be aware that the UN banned the use of drift nets on the high seas in 1992 and the EU banned them in 2002.  Isn’t Gibraltar part of the European Union?  So GFSA wants to know what is preventing the Chief Minister from enforcing such a ban here in Gibraltar.  The time has now come for this Government to show some leadership and to place an immediate ban on the use of drift nets in GTW and to direct the Royal Gibraltar Police (RGP) to enforce this ban.   If the Government says that they cannot interfere with the operational responsibilities of the RGP than what is stopping the RGP from enforcing a ban on the use of drift nets in GTW given that the use of nets is banned by the Nature Protection Act 1991? GFSA believes and is convinced that it is the Government that is influencing the way that these incidents are dealt with by the RGP because if the RGP were to enforce existing local laws at sea within GTW, as enshrined within the Nature Protection Act 1991, it will upset Spain and this is frowned upon by the Chief Minister.  This view is reinforced because it appears that when the RGP attend any incident at sea where angling or anglers are involved they do not seem to know what to do.  They are asking the victims of these incidents what they think they ought to do and in other cases they just seem to be say that there is nothing they can do.  So when GFSA gets feed back like this it comes to the logical conclusion that RGP officers at an operational level are not being given the direction that they need by their leadership because that leadership is being put under political pressure by the Chief Minister to turn a blind eye to these activities, and to ignore and play them down.  It is part of a policy of appeasement and rapprochement towards Spain supported by this Government that is putting Gibraltarian lives at risk for political expediency. GFSA is very critical of the action taken by the RGP in the aftermath of the incident.  To arrest two Spanish nationals who were later released on bail and allowed to return to Spain is frankly not good enough.  The RGP should have arrested the vessel, seized the drift nets and other equipment and charged all the men on board not just 2 of them.  In GFSA’s view they have missed an opportunity to send a strong message to Spanish commercial fishermen that they need to respect our waters and our laws. It is time that this Government takes stock of the damage that Spanish commercial fishermen using drift nets are doing in Gibraltar Territorial Waters.  This is only one symptom of a much bigger problem that GFSA has been trying to engage the Government over.  But they are still not talking to GFSA.  Once again the Federation wishes to state openly and publicly that it is willing to talk to this Government.  It is up to the Government to make the next move to break this impasse.

Posted in: another serious incident in Gibraltar Territorial Waters (GTW) between Spanish commercial fishermen using drift nets and local anglers.