Spain hopes for invasive species proposal rethink

After a recent election, the angling community in Spain hopes that its country’s new Government will rethink a controversial court ruling on invasive species.

The ruling seeks to expand the list of what is considered ‘invasive’ in Spain, including species such as carp, pike and black bass, which have been in Spanish waters for many years and the nation’s recreational fishing industry relies heavily upon.

Protesters in the streets of Madrid earlier this year.
Protesters in the streets of Madrid earlier this year.

ASPA (Asociación de Distributores de Artículos de Pesca), the Spanish association of fishing tackle industry, has ordered a study about the environmental, socio-economic and legal consequences of the court ruling.

ASPA’s survey findings
– Spain has about 1,400 small companies that sell fishing articles with an average of between three and eight jobs.
– Implications of the court ruling would be the closure of 1,400 companies, 8,430 direct jobs lost and €1,102,490 million lost.
– The judgment of the Supreme Court has led to a regulatory change that has caught the sport fishing industry by surprise, even though the legislation on exotic species dates back to 2001 and the prohibitions associated with invasive alien species were already known throughout the sector.

Source: www.tackletradeworld.com.

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