Oceana has said that it is very disappointed with the Spanish General Secretary of Marine Fisheries (GSMF) for refusing to supply the list of Spanish fishing boats that have licenses to cut the fins off sharks on board. The marine conservation organisation says that this information is necessary for Oceana to carry out investigations related to the conservation and restoration of the marine environment.
This January, as part of its campaign for the conservation of sharks in European waters, Oceana addressed a letter to the Spanish General Secretary of Fisheries, Juan Carlos Martín Fragueiro, requesting information on the shark fishery undertaken by the Spanish fishing fleet. A similar letter was also sent to other European Union countries involved in this fishery.
In particular, Oceana requested the list of Spanish-flagged vessels that have licenses to remove the fins from sharks on board - data which is essential to increase knowledge and improve management of sharks in Europe, as intense fisheries pressure in the past decades has provoked a considerable decline in their populations.
Despite the fact that what was requested was routine information regarding a presumably legitimate activity, the GSMF has denied release of such data under claims that it affects the confidentiality of those carrying out the activity. As a foundation statutorily tasked to protect common interests regarding marine resources, Oceana has criticized this denial to supply the data which the organisation believes it has a right to have. According to the organisation, the Fishery Secretary’s attitude contradicts the current government’s promises for transparency in public management. What’s more, the ship owners these licenses were given to benefit from numerous subsidies coming from public money collected through citizen taxes, and these citizens have a right to know what activities have resulted from their contributions.
Oceana feels that it should be pointed out that, faced with a similar request, the Portuguese General Director of Fisheries and Agriculture did not have any problem with releasing the full list of Portuguese-flagged vessels which have special licenses to remove fins from sharks on board.
The organisation has announced its intention to use all the legal initiatives it has in hand to obtain the information requested from the Spanish General Secretary of Fisheries.
