Mussel rafts. (Photo: CSIC)
SPAIN
Wednesday, August 20, 2014, 02:00 (GMT + 9)
The presence of the lipophilic toxin in the Galician estuaries has caused the closure of almost all Galician mussel polygons and the stoppage of the local canning industry production.
The red tide at this time blocks the capture in 90 per cent of the rafts. Only two polygons located in Betanzos and four in Redondela are open, Atlantico reported.
"It's pretty much all stopped at the 67 plants in Galicia because here we focus on the product from here," Juan Manuel Vieites, general secretary of the National Association of Manufacturers of Canned Fish and Shellfish (ANFACO), explained.
Canners entrepreneurs expect the red tide does not last too long because its mussel best quality conditions are recorded between January and October, when the sector produces the most to market throughout the rest of the year, added the official.
Vieites states the canning firms no longer have mussel stock and alternatives are sought only in the foreign market because "the vast majority" focuses on the Galician product.
Meanwhile, the Technological Institute of Control of the Marine Environment of Galicia (INTECMAR) reported that the closures of the platforms have a weeks or months’ time scale
The latest sample of Galician waters indicates that the situation has improved a lot, and the north wind and good weather are helping to clean the areas. However, INTECMAR director, Covadonga Salgado, emphasizes that "we must be cautious."
The agency under the Secretariat of Marine Affairs reported that there are six polygons in which mussel capture is allowed and that "can supply the markets and the product can be safely consumed if sold through legal channels."
However, according to Francisco Alcalde, Chairman of the Regulatory Council of Galician Mussel, "the sector is demoralized."
"There are zones outside the estuaries where no kilo has been sold throughout the year, and 2013 was a bad year," he said.
Meanwhile, the Secretariat of Marine Affairs completed the application submission deadline for the mussel fishermen can receive aid for losses caused by the red tide last year.
The company received a total of 582 requests, the newspaper La Voz de Galicia reported.
The mussel is the second most important resource for the canning industry, after tuna.
Related article:
- Galicia closes a third of mussel polygons due to red tide