Spain fishermen stuck in port after Morocco ban

(MADRID) - Spanish fishing boats returned to port on Thursday after a ban on them trawling in Moroccan waters, which threatens the livelihood of hundreds of fishermen and deepens Spain's economic misery.

Spain called its fleet home when Morocco banned European ships from its waters after the European Parliament cancelled a deal for EU countries to fish there in exchange for annual payments to Rabat.

"The Spanish boats that were fishing in Moroccan waters have been called back," the fisheries ministry said in a statement. It did not specify how many boats were out fishing when the ban was announced.

"There are 64 boats and some 600 direct jobs affected, as well as jobs indirectly created by the fishing sector," it added.

Most of Spain's fishing boats are based in the southern Andalucia region and the Canary Islands.

The government declined to quantify the economic impact of the cancellation on Spain, which consumes millions of tonnes of fish a year according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation.

But it dealt a clear blow to a country already suffering from a 21.5-percent jobless rate, with some five million Spaniards unemployed and economists warning of a fresh recession next year.

"Things were already bad. Now, as we say in the Canaries, we are being thrown to the fishes," said Francisco Jimenez, a spokesman for the fishermen's guild in the province of Las Palmas on the Atlantic archipelago.

"This was bitter news. No one expected it."

All the fishing crews in Las Palmas have returned to port and "are waiting to see if there will be a new decision. Otherwise they'll send people to the unemployment queue -- that's the biggest recruiter in Spain."

In their decision Wednesday, European legislators said they wanted to wait until the interests of the people of the disputed territory of Western Sahara were considered before agreeing to a 12-month extension of the deal.

Rights campaigners also said the fishing deal breached international law regarding Western Sahara, a former Spanish colony that Morocco annexed in 1976.

Under the deal, Morocco would have received 36 million euros ($46 million) to let some 120 fishing boats, mainly from Spain, operate in its waters.

In the Andalucian port of Algeciras all the 15 ships in the local fleet "came back from midnight last night after the agreement was cancelled," said Luis Gonzalez, a spokesman for the fishermen's guild.

"They are hoping the situation gets fixed quickly," he said, adding that he did not know if there were alternative fishing grounds available. "I suppose the European Parliament must have a solution."

Spain's fisheries minister, Rosa Aguilar, told reporters in Brussels that Spain is demanding EU compensation.

"This is going to cause major harm to the Spanish fleet," she said. "This harm must be compensated for."