Fishermen from La Linea and Algeciras who use their small boats in the bay, held a meeting with the Gibraltar Government at 6 Convent Place on Tuesday, regarding the skirmishes seen between them the Gibraltar Police when they fish near the rock. The meeting between them and the Gibraltar Government council, led by First Minister, Fabian Picardo, ended without agreement. The fishermen say the break in negotiations is definitive and in the face of increased tension in the Algeciras Bay have called for ‘the support of the Spanish Government’ so they can carry out their jobs, which they have always developed in the zone, without problems. In the meantime they will continue to fish in the bay. President of the Andalucian fishermen, Pedro Maza, commented that they had tried to reach an agreement by dialogue at all times, but it was impossible given the insistence of Gibraltar in compliance of their environmental regulations introduced in 1991. He said Picardo had unilaterally ended a deal done with the Spanish fishermen in 1999 allowing them to fish using their traditional methods at a distance of half a mile. Maza said he could not say what would happen now but noted that there were some 300 families dependent on the 70 boats in the fleet. They were intending to continue fishing and hoped that the Guardia Civil would remain in the area to avoid any pressure of fines from the Gibraltar authorities. There was a more optimistic outlook from the talks for Fabian Picardo who said he was moderately confident of concluding a draft agreement to create a working group for further negotiations. He said he was still willing to ‘pluck an agreement like a needle out of a haystack’.
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