Open conflict between Algeciras and Gibraltar on account of the complaint filed by the authorities of the Rock against a Spanish fishing boat that was fishing yesterday in the waters of the Bay. Today, the mayor of Algeciras, José Ignacio Landaluce, has assessed the situation, demanding that the main minister of the English colony, Fabián Picardo, “respect” international law and stop “harassing” Spanish ships to avoid an “international conflict”.
For its part, the Royal Gibraltar Police has indicated in a statement that the reprimand to the skipper of the fishing boat ‘Mi Daniela’, Jonathan Sánchez, is due to having committed “numerous offences” dating back to early May of this year, among them fishing in “illegal waters” and “dangerous navigation.”
Sánchez, 33, was returning this morning with his boat one mile from the east coast of the Rock where yesterday he was approached by three Gibraltarian boats to collect their nets, and he did so escorted by a patrol boat from the Maritime Service of the Civil Guard, which that has enabled him to achieve his goal. “I fish in waters that the government of my country says are Spanish, and I use nets and gear that are legal in Spain and in the European Union,” he commented upon reaching the mainland.
Turby waters. Landaluce has come out in defense of the fishermen in the area arguing that Gibraltar does not own the waters surrounding the Colony”, and demands that they “stop putting pressure” on the boats, both those that fish in the area and those the officers to avoid further friction. In addition, the mayor of Algeciras and also a PP senator has pointed out that the authorities of the Rock already accumulate “several incidents of this type” and regrets the “negative and confrontational attitude” that these authorities maintain.
“We are suffering unexcused pressure on Spanish vessels, this time it has been ‘My Daniela’, whose owners seek a life at sea and in the area where they have always done so looking for their family livelihood”, he commented, since he has insisted that “Gibraltar does not own the waters of the Bay and the Levante side, which it uses and which are not legally its own.”
“They will not stop trying to take away what belongs to Spain and is established by international law and the Treaty of Utrecht”, warned the mayor, and requests that the Government of Spain “take action on the matter” to enforce the law and protect fishermen. “Gibraltar is not doing things right, they know it and the law protects us”, he concluded.
It was on August 21 when Jonathan found himself cornered by three Gibraltarian boats from the Royal Police, Customs and the Environment on the east coast of the Rock. He was fishing, but he had to interrupt his activity when they requested his documentation and charged him with various charges. The Government of the Colony justifies that its small boat has been committing infractions for months, and now, officially, it has denounced it for fishing in waters that Gibraltar recognizes as its own, as well as for using gear that damages the habitat of the area, for disobedience to an agent of authority and dangerous navigation.
The boss is concerned about how the judicial process can go and hopes that “someone from the Spanish Government” will come out “in my defense, because I cannot go alone”, he declared today to the EFE news agency.
Early this morning, he returned to the scene to collect his fishing gear, but upon returning to La Línea, he once again experienced moments of tension with the Peñón authorities. One of his boats, according to what he recounts, “has accelerated at full speed and they crossed me two meters ahead, potentially causing an accident. What they accuse me of is precisely what they usually do every time we are in this area.” “The Civil Guard has told me that I cannot return to that area, but that is where I win the patage”, he explained, “I want to return, but I don’t know how safely I can go. I will have to fish in another area first and wait for everything to calm down, and come back later to see how they act with me”.
