Spanish Government ban on the sale of dead-caught shortfin mako shark

Question for written answer  E-001451/2021
to the Commission
Rule 138
Francisco José Millán Mon (PPE)

In response to question for written answer E-006275/2020, Commissioner Sinkevičius, on behalf of the Commission, stated that a total ban on the retention of shortfin mako shark ‘would not contribute substantially to the conservation of this species, [...] would be contradictory to the EU Common Fisheries Policy, and detrimental to all the fleets involved’. He also stated that the EU ‘proposes to allow in some circumstances the retention and sale of shortfin mako sharks caught dead’.

At present, the Spanish Ministry for the Ecological Transition does not allow the sale of mako that are dead when brought alongside the vessel, even if they are caught within the limits set by the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas and the Council. The fisheries sector and the Galician regional government have called this ‘unfathomable’ and ‘arbitrary’. There are currently more than 90 tonnes of gutted and frozen shortfin mako shark in cold storage in the port of Vigo, the port hardest hit by the Spanish Ministry’s decision.

• 1.What is the Commission’s view of this situation?
• 2.Does the Commission consider the Spanish Government’s unilateral ban on the sale of dead-caught shortfin mako shark to be compatible with the requirements of the common fisheries policy?