The Basque government and the Euskadiko Angulero Elkartea association reach an agreement on the professionalization of this traditional art of fishing. Sales can only take place at two authorized points of sale and from now on it is AZTI that sets the annual quotas depending on the stock of the species.
The Basque government and the association Euskadiko Angulero Elkartea (EAE) have agreed on the number licenses for eel fisheries in the Basque Autonomous Community (CAV). 150with the aim of professionalize this occupation and care for the permanence of eelthat is, the young individuals of the eel.
Eel fisheries, with a long tradition in the inland waters of Bizkaia and Gipuzkoa, have so far been regulated by several executive orders from the early 2000s. serious stock decline of the European eel, both the Basque government and the association itself have recognized the need to move forward with more precise regulation.
For example, the agreement stipulates that from now on a maximum of 150 licenses will be granted — in the currently around 700, 660 are for fishing on foot and thirty from a boat. Two-thirds of the permits will be distributed according to agreed scales, and the remaining third will be awarded through a public lottery.
In addition, it will be the technology center AZTI which sets the catch quota, taking into account the stock of the species and its sustainability. Similarly, the creation of a joint commission composed of Azti itself, the EAE association, the Basque government and an environmental group is planned. This body will be responsible for analyzing the season – it runs from mid-November to the end of January – and making decisions to ensure the survival of the species.
Finally alone two outlets, one in Bizkaia and another in Gipuzkoa (to be determined), where the catch will be weighed and sold through a public and regulated auction.
The Union Basque Angulero Elkartea (EAE), founded in 2021 with 200 members, thanked in a statement “the invaluable support” of political parties and collaborators, as well as the “effort” of the Basque government, and in particular the Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Politics Alimentaria, Bittor Oroz, to agree on the points of this agreement.
Source: EITB
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