Around 50 local fishing vessels in Tavira are at risk of suspending their activity due to the closure of the only fuel station dedicated to fishing in the municipality, a sector professional said today.
“The unexpected closure of the only station in the port of Tavira for local and coastal fishing vessels, and with no alternative, seriously compromises the exercise of the activity for around fifty vessels”, Mário Gonçalves, from the board of the Association of Shipowners and Fishermen of Tavira (APTAV), told Lusa.
According to the official, the fishermen were “caught by surprise with the closure for works and for an indefinite period” of the station located on the pier of the fishing port of Tavira, on November 26, “without prior warning and without an alternative being provided”.
“We contacted the station’s concessionaire who told us that he had no responsibility in the decision to close, claiming that he was only informed at the time of closure, having sought with his superior to promote the creation of an alternative supply solution, but so far we have not had any response”, he pointed out.
The situation puts into question the direct livelihood of dozens of families who depend exclusively on fishing and who “find themselves unable to work due to lack of [local para abastecer] fuel”, he highlighted.
Mário Gonçalves explained that fishing professionals in Tavira “only have an alternative” to refueling their vessels at fuel stations located in Fuseta, in the municipality of Olhão, in Vila Real de Santo António or in Spain.
“These are considerable and unbearable distances for seven and eight meter vessels”, he highlighted.
According to the person responsible, the river transport company that operates between the city of Tavira and the islands at this time was also taken by surprise, with the closure of the station.
APTAV calls on the competent authorities and authorities to find an alternative “as a matter of urgency, a temporary supply solution, which guarantees the continuity of fishing activity and avoids irreversible economic and social damage to the affected communities”.
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