ARCHIVED - Mar Menor fishermen reeling over damaged nets caused during government inspections

Members of the Fishermen's Guild of San Pedro del Pinatar in the Murcia Region feel they are being unfairly punished

Fishermen in the Mar Menor are once again at loggerheads with the authorities, accusing inspectors from the Regional Fisheries Service of causing extensive and costly damage to their nets.

Routine checks of nets are carried out by officials from the service, which belongs to the Ministry of Water, Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries, Environment and Emergencies, to make sure they are legal and properly identified.

However, in the process, the Fishermen's Guild of San Pedro del Pinatar claims lot of damage is caused. "Some of my very expensive nets have been broken, and were inspected without prior notice," complained local fisherman Santiago Jiménez, adding that the damage caused to his property is "disproportionate over a lack of a marking flag in my fishing grounds as they are often lost when caught by other boats".

Guild spokesman, José Blaya, reiterated the fisherman's sentiments and pledged: "We will fight to stop the fishermen of the Mar Menor, who are having a hard time, being continually punished while little measures are put in place to eradicate poaching."

In response, the head of the Fisheries Service, Emilio María Dolores countered that the inspection of nets is routine if they lack identification, in accordance with the regulations.

"It has been done for years because unidentified nets are classed as illegal fishing," he said, regardless of whether the owner is a member of the fishermen's association or not.

"The inspectors do their job and, if they are not identified, the nets are taken away and the fisherman can ask for financial compensation if he believes he complied with the regulations. However, if the inspector says otherwise, his position prevails."

When a file against a fishermen is opened, it's put on public display for a possible counter claim, but the fisherman will have to pay the fine before the nets are returned to them.

If the owner does not make contact, the Fisheries Service sends the nets to be recycled.

The head of the Fisheries Service warned that "action is taken against poaching, which is all unidentified fishing".

There has been a decrease in sanctions against illegal fishing in the Mar Menor in recent years, although "this does not mean a lower incidence rate", according to Dolores, "but due to the pandemic".

Despite being a protected area, the Mar Menor is continually subjected to environmental damage from a growing number of sources, and a fortnight ago, it was revealed the Murcia Region has increased its Guardia Civil force by 6.4% to step up protection.

Illegal boat parties are an obvious concern, and only last month, the regional government of Murcia refused to issue any fines to the participants of an illegal concentration of dozens of boats next to the Isla del Ciervo in August.

The regional authorities said that the island surroundings are not in their jurisdiction because they are on water and not land. However, Spain's Ministry for Ecological Transition has launched a probe into any possible harm caused by the illegal boat party.

Image: CARM