Canary Islands in Spain transfers to the Ministry, the concern of the fishing sector of the islands about the prickly pear

The Government of the Canary Islands has approached the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food with concerns regarding the plight of the small-scale artisanal fishing sector, particularly affected by the closure of the prickly pear (bigeye) fishery. This closure, a result of quota limitations in the national fishing plan, has been criticized for its impact on artisanal fishing, despite the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) advocating for the needs of small-scale fisheries. Álvaro de la Bárcena, the Deputy Minister of the Primary Sector of the Government of the Canary Islands, has called for a quota allocation for prickly pear for the Canary Islands, Azores, and Madeira, citing sustainable fishing practices and questioning the plan's inconsistencies. The Government is also advocating for an 'optimization mechanism' to prevent other fleets from catching the Canarian fleet's share and is awaiting a judicial resolution on the national fishing plan.