The Rural Agents are tightening the siege on sea urchin poachers in the Girona regions. The force carries out controls by sea and by land to try to catch those who fail to comply with the recreational fishing regulations, which sets a maximum of 150 specimens per day and always for own consumption.
In the last two seasons, they have carried out a hundred inspections and have reported nine people, seven last year.
"I want to think that the fact that there are fewer this year is due to the pressure we are putting on," remarks the coordinator of the Rurals marine support group in Girona, Albert González. The controls seek to put an end to the mischief of those who try to break the rules.
The recreational fishing regulations for sea urchins establish that the campaign begins on October 1 and ends on March 31, that they can only be caught freediving by hand or with a traditional sea urchin, and that they cannot go deeper than 10 meters. In addition, it sets a limit of 150 copies per person per day and always "for own consumption" and with a license. They also cannot be caught after one in the afternoon.
In the case of professional fishing, its traceability must be guaranteed via brotherhoods and sales and marketing in fishmongers and restaurants are permitted. In that case, the catch limit is 150 kilos per license per day.
This on paper. But the reality that Rural Agents encounter in their inspections is often different. People who go looking for urchins without a license, others who do more than one dive a day to extract more than what is allowed, or recreational fishermen who sell their catches to third parties and even to fishmongers and restaurants, are some examples.
To put a stop to these practices, the Rurals carry out random controls and inspections both by sea and by land - also with plainclothes agents.
They pay attention, above all, to those they capture on a recurring basis. "We find people who have continuous and highly concentrated activity on weekends, when there is more movement. We focus on these profiles to monitor and thus be able to detect and stop illegal sales," says González.
The objective is to catch them 'red-handed', but many times they are forced to carry out follow-ups and even chases to try to catch them when they carry out the transactions, which are increasingly sophisticated. "It's not easy, you have to invest time and resources but every year we manage to report them," adds González.
