The Association of Fishermen of the Sea-Organization of Producers (AFS-OP), in a written statement, appealed to all Polish fishermen on October 2 to respect the European Union ban on fishing cod in the Eastern Baltic and to stay in ports.
”In relation to the current situation in Baltic fisheries, characterised by encouragement by the Government of the Republic of Poland to breaking the European Commission regulation which prohibits fishing for Eastern Baltic Cod stock, the General Board of AFS-OP calls upon the Members of our organisation to stay in ports and abide by the rules of law in force” they write in their declaration.
A polish daily reports that the Polish government has been unable to create an effective process to protect the fishermen in the past two years even though the European Union has dedicated financial resources for compensation for Member States with cod fishing closures. AFS-OP stated that the ”Government of Poland, represented by Mr Marek Grobarczyk and Mr Grzegorz Halubek, Ministers of Maritime Economy, is committing a lie through declaring that Polish fishermen shall not bear the consequences of their disobedience to the cod fishing prohibition. Up to now, no written guarantee for fishermen protection from possible punishment has been presented”.
It is becoming clear that the position of the fishermen is shifting. There seems to be a 50-50 split among the different fishing units, where 50% want to break the ban and 50% want to stay in ports. At least two fishermen’s associations (out of 4) decided not to break the ban during a meeting held last Friday. “The activities of the Ministry of Maritime Economy are extremely irresponsible” states ASF-OP, adding that their organisation is responsible, honest, and committed to respecting the ban, and against illegal fishing.
In a bold final statement the General Board of AFS-OP declared ”complete break-up of any ties with the current government policy on Baltic fisheries”. Grzegorz Ha³ubek,Vice Minister of Maritime Economy, commented that he has never heard ”one fisherman threatening another before”.