Last Friday Polish fishermen broke the law by opposing the EU Commission ban on cod trawling in the Eastern Baltic.
“The controllers knew well that we were going out to fish for cod, we did not hide it. No one checked up on us while we were fishing. Only once in port, we were met by the workers of the District Fisheries Inspectorate from Gdynia. They documented the amount of cod we had, and left. There were no penalties or warnings. If they wanted to scare us, they were not successful. When the weather improves we are going to return to the catch areas” said Grzegorz Szomburg quoted in a polish daily, Dziennik Baltycki, owner of a fishing boat JAS-99, one of the six, on which the Fisheries Inspectorate documented eastern Baltic cod in direct contravention of the ban announced by the European Union in July of this year.
Polish Fishermen decided to break the ban after a decisive meeting in Ustka, where 70 fishing vessel representatives gathered. Fishermen in Kolobrzeg are also considering taking this step. Jerzy Wysoczañski, chairman of the Polish Fishermen’s Union asserted that almost everyone gathered at the meeting in Ustka decided to break the European Union law, with further plans to fish after the weather becomes more stable on the Baltic. According to some Polish fishermen there is high numbers of cod in the eastern Baltic, and in their eyes breaking the ban will serve to illustrate that the European Union based their closure on bogus facts.
Dziennik Baltycki further reports that the controls of the fishing vessels were routine only. Out of the six inspected vessels only three had cod. Everything was documented and administrative investigation will take place based on the severity of the contravention of the law. Andrzej Baczewski, one of the District Fisheries Inspectors from Gdynia, explained that the maximum penalty owned by each individual fishing vessel will be no more than about 6 thousand Euros. It is important to note that the European Union inspectors are also on duty since 20 September.
Fishermen say the ban does not only affect them
The recent European ban on fishing cod in Poland will not only affect the fishermen. According to the polish daily, Dziennik, the ban will affect the fisheries industry including manufacturers and firms. Many firms will lose business as many suppliers announced they will only buy cod which can be legitimately certified as legal, among them the big fish processing company company Espersen. There are fears of massive layoffs. The Polish fishing industry currently employs about 25 thousand people.
The Polish Minister of Maritime Economy is still hopeful
The Polish Minister of Maritime Economy, Marek Gróbarczyk, hopes to meet with all of the Baltic State Ministers to present his case for cod, as he believes there is a tremendous problem in the European Union catch reporting system. He is also interested in hiring an independent source to measure current levels of cod in the Baltic, and received assurances from the EU Commissioner, Joe Borg, that this action will not be blocked. The Polish Minister believes that the current allowable quotas are absurd and unrealistic and none of the fishing vessels can remain afloat with the current limit. Gróbarczyk’s Deputy Minister, Grzegorz Halubek, reassured the fishermen who broke the ban on Friday, that their licenses will not be taken away and that there will be no fines to pay either. In his view, inspections at this point are fear creating tactics targeting the fishermen. The Inspectors did not have permission from the Ministry of Maritime Economy to conduct any checks.