Brussels proposes to cut a 15 percent of mackerel fishing in the Canary Islands for next year 2009.

IT IS BASED ON THE PROPOSITION ABOUT FISHING POSSIBILITIES.

Total allowable catches of horse mackerel or horse mackerel (trachurus trachurus) in the Archipelago this year has been located in 1.280 tons so, with the reduction proposed by Brussels, in 2009 would descend until 1.088 tons.

The European Commission's proposal regarding fishing quotas and total allowable catches for next year takes into account the “most recent scientific reports on the state of fish stocks from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea”.

According to the European Commission, "most of the stocks continued to be overfished in 2008" so it is necessary to reduce fishing in the "short term" to ensure the future of the sector..

In this sense, Brussels sets long-term recovery plans for major stocks. While for the rest of the species “a progressive approach is applied, according to which the quotas are modified, maximum, a 15 percent per year ". What "offers certain stability to fishermen while maintaining an evolution towards a more sustainable fishing from the ecological point of view", according to the community executive.

The European Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Joe Borg, has defended the proposed fishing cuts as there is "no other choice if we want to reestablish the ecological foundations of a truly viable fishing sector".