Conservation NGO Oceana has long maintained that several fishing vessels flagged to Spain or owned by Spanish interests off the coast of West Africa obscure their vessel ownership information and systematically engage in IUU activity.
In its latest attempt to stop the practice, the group is now pushing for amendments to Spain’s fisheries law, the draft of which is currently being reviewed by Spanish Congress.
Oceana Senior Policy Advisor Ignacio Vanzini told SeafoodSource that in its drafted fisheries law, Spain needs to make it mandatory for beneficial owners of fishing vessels to identify and register their operations in West Africa.
"We have proposed to members of the Spanish Congress some amendments to the fisheries law, which is currently before them, to ensure it includes a component on transparency and accountability in fishing operations carried out by Spanish fishing companies and vessels, particularly in countries such as Senegal that have weak governance regimes for their marine resources," he said. “Unfortunately, these fishing companies, some of which are Spanish, have partnered with local partners in countries like Senegal and continue to target small pelagics in the name of investing in Senegal's fishery resources, thus depriving the locals of any benefit from their own ocean resources.”
In the effort, Oceana has teamed up with other NGOs including ClientEarth, Ecologistas en Acción, the Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF), SEO/BirdLife, and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), aiming to guarantee codified transparency and accountability provisions for Spanish fishing companies and vessels operating off of foreign coasts.
Vanzini said it’s Spain’s responsibility to take this fight on because “money these firms are using to invest in their fisheries operations originates from Spain.” With the draft of the fisheries law now on the table, he said it gives the country the unique opportunity to entrench provisions into its legal framework that sanction Spanish companies found to engage in illegal practices.
However, Vanzini acknowledged that the process of approving amendments in Spanish Congress is rigorous and requires a strong consensus among political parties.
“We are not sure if the amendments we are proposing will be accepted by Congress and whether the draft law will actually be passed because the political situation in Spain is a bit unstable and the government requires at least seven different political parties to approve any law or amendments to any of its provisions,” Vanzini said. “But, we remain optimistic.”
The call for adding amendments to the law comes after Oceana and ClientEarth filed a lawsuit against Spain for refusing to cooperate in IUU investigations, accusing Spain of bias when it comes to taking action against its own vessels operating in other countries.
Spain, for its part, has stated it lacks jurisdiction to investigate and sanction Spanish-owned vessels that have not been added to illegal fishing blacklists and operate outside national waters.
Meanwhile, Oceana and ClientEarth termed Spain’s interpretation of regulations “dangerous” as it aids in creating loopholes in the E.U.’s efforts to stop illegal fishing.
The case was ultimately rejected before going to trial by the High Court of Madrid.
Oceana has since appealed the case to the nation’s Supreme Court, though Vanzini said he is less optimistic about the appeal than he is about amending the fisheries law.
“The Spanish Supreme Court admits between 15 percent and 20 percent of appeals, and the process is quite subjective. We do not have much hope of our appeal being admitted for consideration by the judges. We have filed the appeal to ensure we exhaust all available domestic legal remedies in having Spain compelled to investigate and bring to justice companies benefiting from illegal fishing in Senegal and other West African countries,” he said. “If the Supreme Court does not admit our appeal for consideration, we still have the option of moving to the E.U. to register our complaint.”
Both the call for amendments and the Supreme Court appeal represent uphill battles, but Vanzini said Oceana and its partners remain committed to the issue of traceability and are keen on linking information from the point of catch to the point of sale, allowing consumers to know exactly where their seafood comes from.
