Abel Losada values as "an act of justice with the people of the sea" the decision of the Government to allow the "rareo" of seafood during the cessation of activity

The subdelegate of the Government in Pontevedra, Abel Losada, was this morning in the bank of the Ameixal (Lourido) accompanying the shellfish harvesters in the second day of work in the bottom of the Pontevedra estuary to perform work of rareo (transfer of the bivalves) and mussel cleaning that is carried out under the legal protection of the criterion approved by the Government of Spain. An interpretative change that allows these tasks to be performed while the workers receive aid for cessation of activity.
Losada, accompanied by Raquel Gómez, president of the Marisqueo Group at the foot of the Cofradía Sano Telmo de Pontevedra, described as “an act of justice for the people of the sea” the entry into force of this measure to satisfy an old demand of the collective. “I had not felt any way to prohibit shellfish growers from doing this type of work, which does not bring any immediate benefits, because it helps a lot to ensure that there is productivity in the coming years, thus avoiding new cessation of activity in the future due to lack of product in the banks.”
The subdelegate wanted to make an explicit recognition of the work of the directors of the Social Institute of the Mariña (IMS) of Vigo and Vilagarcía, Rosa María Alonso and Nerea Álvarez, who transferred this need to the director of the ISM, Elena Martínez, as well as to the Federation of Brotherhoods itself. Losada also highlighted the sensitivity of the General Directorate of Social Security, whose general director, Marta Morano, signed the new interpretative criterion that allows the workers of the Special Regime of Seafarers (REM) to carry out this type of work on the beaches without losing their rights due to cessation of activity. And finally, he alluded to the rigour of a minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, such as #Luís Planas, always willing to defend the primary sector.
On his visit to Lourido and Campelo, Abel Losada stressed that this petition was already formulated by the brotherhoods to the Government of Spain in 2013, when it was presided over by Mariano Rajoy “and not only was it rejected, but also a door was given to the possibility that vigilance had been made to avoid furtivism and the same common cleanings.” The Government of Rajoy replied to the Galician brotherhoods that surveillance and cleaning were “accessory activities of the shellfish with a commercial purpose” and, therefore, incompatible with charging for cessation of activity. This was written in a report signed on June 26, 2013.
Losada explained that the situation began to change in May 2019, already with the progressive government presided over by Pedro Sánchez who admitted the possibility of cleaning and monitoring in cases of closure of the rías for reasons of force majeure considering them “compatible with the perception of the cessation of activity benefit”. The first step, taken on May 31, 2019, is now added this new advance that admits the compatibility of the perception of the cessation of activity benefit of the workers of the REM “with the realization of the functions of seeding and transfer of bivalves that are essential for the maintenance of the fuck/production during the time of temporary cessation of the activity”.
Raquel Gómez explained that about 450 people live from shellfish in the Pontevedra estuary benefit from this step, which responds to an insistent request of the sector “for a long time” and which was now, finally, attended. The shellfish harvester stressed that in these two days, basically, mussel removal from the sandy area is being carried out, since it is a natural competitor of the clam and leaves the water without nutrients. In each of these two days, about 6 tons were withdrawn.
“The primary sector is key to our economy and we all know the harshness of the work of the sea,” said Abel Losada. “Shellfish, in addition, is a predominant female sector, so we must congratulate the workers for having insisted by knocking on the door of the Government of Spain; that insistence comes from having a reward thanks to the fact that there is now a progressive Government,” concluded Abel Losada.
In addition, the subdelegate stressed the impact of climate change, which predicts that episodes of low salinity in the estuaries due to intense rains such as those that have occurred during this last autumn and summer in the province of Pontevedra will go up in the coming years. “The administrations, each within the scope of its competences, have to be very sensitive to the primary sector; the State Government comes from demonstrating this and it is also necessary for the Autonomous Administration to demonstrate that it is on the side of the sector taking structural measures and not only short-term measures to support people who earn their living by sheltering on our beaches.”
According to ISM data, the shellfish harvesters of the Pontevedra estuary were in cessation of activity twice during the year 2023, between April 27 and June 1 and between September 5 and 13. 354 and 282 applications for cessation of activity benefits were favourably resolved, respectively. In @both the two periods was for toxin. In this year, 2024, the cessation occurred on January 1 for shellfish the float and on January 16 for shellfish on foot and the reason was the low salinity of the waters.
In the province of Pontevedra there are a total of 3,624 people registered in the REM and who work in the shellfish banks of the Rías de Vigo, Pontevedra and Arousa.