The catches of trawler fishermen could not be transported to the distribution centers in Barcelona and Valencia, nor to Alicante and Andalusia, due to the traffic restrictions planned on the AP-7 highway. Discussions between the Tarragona Fishermen's Guild and the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food of the Generalitat have not yielded a solution.
Seine fishing boats, known as 'llum', will go out during the night-Tuesday to Wednesday, as the majority of their catches are destined for Mercadona according to a signed agreement. The food chain will be able to distribute the product without problems during the morning.
The problem primarily affects the 21 trawler boats from Tarragona, as well as two vessels using smaller nets. These boats go out in the morning and return to port between three-thirty and five in the afternoon, with the fish market open until seven.
The restrictions on the AP-7 will prohibit truck circulation in the southbound direction between Ulldecona and Martorell from five in the afternoon until midnight. They will also apply to the N-340 between Vilafranca del Penedès and Alcanar. This limitation would only allow fish distribution to nearby fishmongers, affecting prices according to Guild sources.
Furthermore, a potential traffic collapse is expected, and some transport companies have already communicated their inability to provide the service, such as a regular transporter heading south.
This mandatory halt will be added to another on Friday, as Saturday is a holiday, and a third on the following Wednesday, the day of Sant Magí.
