Palma.Xavier Pastor, director of marine conservationist group Oceana said yesterday that fish catches in the Balearics will start to decline in the medium term if the present rate of industrial fishing continues. The sea is not an inexhaustible supply and stocks need time to recover, said Pastor. He pointed out that the fishing industry is already in crisis and becoming increasingly less profitable. There needs to be a firm agreement between government and fishermen because something has got to be done now to reduce pressure on stocks, he warned.
Pastor listed a number of measures which could be taken immediately to halt the decline in the sea's natural resources.
He said that dragnet trawling needs to be controlled as there is much unnecessary waste caught up in the nets. He also said that marine reserves need to be set up in Balearic waters to allow the bluefin tuna to grow to an adequate size and that there should be a return to former artesan styles of fishing which selects particular species. Fishing less today means more for tomorrow, Pastor said.