(haipo) The Ministry of Agriculture announced that it will grant 6000 NIS to each professional fisherman, for the two months in which fishing is prohibited. The fishermen are protesting: "We are being denied the right to exist and earn a living."
As you may recall, last May fishermen and their families went out to demonstrate about their livelihood conditions following the ban on fishing during the breeding season, between May 1st and June 30th, a ban that began in 2017 and refers to fishing in the Mediterranean Sea, the purpose of which is to ensure a proper breeding process, without interruption, which will allow the establishment of A generation of offspring of minnows in the Mediterranean during the breeding season and maintaining the fish resource in Israel.
The fishermen demanded from the state that during this period of the ban, financial compensation be granted to fishermen who make a living from fishing, so that they can continue to provide for their families, and even explained that according to many studies that have been done, there is no harm or obstacle to fishing during the reproductive period and that many countries approve fishing during this period as well.
In order to support the professional fishing community in the fishing methods that were prohibited during these periods, the Ministry of Agriculture announced a support outline, before the law. The ministry emphasizes that the support does not constitute compensation for damage allegedly caused to fishermen due to the fishing ban, or an obligation to provide support in additional cases or times. The scope of support for any professional fisherman or holder of a professional license for a fishing vessel, who will meet the conditions listed in the procedure, will be in accordance with uniform rules and will amount to 6,000. "The existence of this support emphasizes the need to uphold the ban, so that the parent schools will reproduce during this period, and thus the fishing community and consumers will benefit from the prosperity of fish in the years to come," the ministry says.
The Fishermen's Union in Israel gave Lahi Pa in response:
"The Ministry of Agriculture imposes seasonal fishing bans (for dozens of consecutive days) on the fishermen in the Mediterranean Sea, every year, without providing adequate compensation for shutting down their activities during the breeding and recruitment periods.
In the objections to the support procedure and in the petition to the High Court, we asked to formulate a support procedure that would regulate the compensation of fishermen, in all fishing methods, not only for the shutdown of fishing in the past year, but also for the shutdown of fishing in previous years, starting from the date of entry into force of the reform of the fishing regulations in 2017. Our objection The support procedure stems from the fact that the support procedures issued in the past and also this year included arbitrary and sweeping conditions, and granted those who met their conditions a meager compensation, which was far from reflecting the loss of income due to the shutdown. We requested in objections and in the High Court that these defects be removed from the support procedure this year, as well as the support managers that will be formed from now on, but the ministry did not respond to even one demand."
"The aggressive and forced shutdown blatantly contradicts the constitutional right to freedom of occupation, and denies a means of subsistence to the public of professional fishermen who seek to provide for their families with dignity," said Sami Elali, spokesman for the fishermen's union, "We request that there be a permanent support and indemnification procedure, so that we will not have to, as unfortunately It happens, to go out every year for the same fight for our livelihood. The amount of support is not based on the economic damage and loss of income. Moreover, the shutdown is implemented at the height of the fishing season, when it is immediately followed by a natural ban, that is, factors that weaken fishing, and this manifests itself in two months of warm water, waves and jellyfish, a period when there is hardly any work in fishing.'
"Our demands are clear and justified and they are; Changing the threshold condition for receiving the support, canceling the condition of not committing an offense against the Fishing Ordinance 18 months before the publication of the procedure, this is a condition that imposes a double penalty on the fisherman and exacerbates the injustice, which will be compensation according to the level, compensation of boat owners in a higher amount than actual, of course, since he is charged with purchasing expenses The boat, nets and equipment, licenses and safes, maintenance, etc., in addition to retroactive compensation for all the years we did not give compensation.'
Elali added that since the regulations were installed at the end of 2016, the fishermen are suffering severe economic damage. It is the responsibility and duty of the Ministry of Agriculture to manage a sustainable fishing interface, but instead they deny us the right to existence and livelihood. This is a punitive measure that joins the many restrictions in the fishing industry, the main purpose of which is to displace the fishermen and destroy the heritage."
The case here is a classic case of competition between rights: on the one hand, the fishermen rightly claim that their livelihood is harmed by regulatory means, which limits the freedom of occupation and is in contradiction to the fundamental law of freedom of occupation. On the other hand, it is not a right that cannot be infringed by other laws, provided that their infringement is proportionate, achieves the purpose for which the regulation was established or the law was enacted, and is in the least possible harm.
For example, the right to freedom of movement is a constitutional right that derives from the fundamental law of human dignity and freedom, but the arrest law is void of this right.
In the case before us: these are professional fishermen who understand that let's assume that there will be no regulatory intervention and there will be no restriction of the fisherman during the reproductive period, in such a case, it is possible that in the near period of the non-ban the fishermen will enjoy a good income, but within a short period the fishing will diminish to the point of extinction and then the same fishermen will come that you have made a living for a long time and will ask for an export because the regulator did not find a suitable way to deal with the "market failure". In every agricultural, commercial area where people are engaged there are periods of high tide and periods of low tide, for example farmers in Israel who grow fruits and vegetables that they want to sell in supermarkets who are strict about kosher know that every seven years there is a lay year they know that they must set aside a tithe from every harvest they know that they must To leave the part of the field where "surpluses" are left for anyone who wants to take them. Thus, for example, farmers know that there may be a situation of drought and in dry seasons water prices will rise. And since, at least in the case of fishing, these cycles are known in advance between the month of May and the end of June, those professionals in the field of fishing can prepare themselves in advance to engage in aquaculture of pond fish more than sea fish or other products. Providing maximum compensation will encourage those factors on the one hand to both increase the price and not to look for alternatives. On the other hand, these regulations come to improve the livelihood of the fishermen and their future generations and come to balance the harm to the public with the fishing disappearing from Israel's shores. The writer is a lawyer.
It would be fair if they were paid according to the average of the PA reports.
How much money do you think a fisherman makes in a year?
You live in the distant past.
Once upon a time a fisherman could make a decent living and buy an apartment to raise children.
After the reform made in 2017, more than half of the fishermen in the Mediterranean do not reach the incident of reporting to VAT, which means less than a turnover of 100000 NIS per year.
The approximately two months of the fishing ban, occurs at the peak of the season when the fisherman brings in most of his annual income.
It is similar that the hotels in Eilat will be prohibited from working in July and August and will be compensated according to the income of January and February.