(Marta Madina- Oceana / 02-12-09) Biomega Nutrición, owned by Manuel Antonio Vidal Prego, has been granted a subsidy of 3.9 million euros to build a production plant of Omega 3 from fish liver oil. This component is mainly extracted from vulnerable deep-sea shark species.

The conservation organization for the seas Oceana has asked the European Union and the Galician government to reverse the recent grant to the company owned by Manuel Antonio Vidal Pego, involved in illegal activities for years.

Vidal Pego is currently one of the owners and managers of Biomega Nutrición, which will receive 3.9 million euros for building and implementing a plant to product Omega 3 fatty acids from fish liver oils.

Liver oil comes mainly from endangered species of deep-sea sharks. The grants are distributed in 2009-2010 and represent 60% of the total plant investment. This grant is co-financed by the European Fisheries Fund.

Vidal Pego is at the same time, the proxy of the company Vidal Armadores SA This company has been repeatedly identified as owner, part owner or operator of several vessels included on the international blacklist of illegal fishing (Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated, IUU) and whose activity has been denounced for years by Oceana.

Xavier Pastor, Executive Director of Oceana in Europe, has strongly criticized this fact: “It is shameful that the European Union and the Galician government are still funding the activities of Vidal Pego and other members of the family involved in IUU fishing; this shows that, in fact, the authorities continue to support the illegal fishing rather than fighting against it.”

Oceana has sent letters to EU and the Sea Counselling of the Galician Governmet to try to revoke the grant of these subsidies. Oceana has also applied the immediate research of the origin of the fishing products imported or stored by Biomega Nutrición, as well as other companies to which Vidal Pego has relation, to guarantee that they do not proceed from illegal fishing.

Additionally, Oceana asks the Spanish and EU authorities for the inclusion in the international blacklist all those Vidal’s boats that have been identified as involved in IUU fishing, and for proceeding to the repayment of all subsidies received by Vidal’s companies, and closing them.

Oceana is particularly concerned about the building of the plant in Boiro, which will transform fish liver oil and fish oil into Omega-3. Most of fish liver oil comes from endangered species of deep-sea sharks, often caught in unregulated fisheries or by unlicensed ships in international waters.

In July 2008, the Antillas Reefer vessel, to which the subsidiary company of Vidal Armadores, Mabenal SA is co-owner, was arrested in Mozambique with an illegal load of sharks, shark liver and shark liver oil on board.

OSince several years, Oceana carries out an active campaign against IUU fishing. In this context, both Manuel Antonio Vidal Pego, and his father Antonio Vidal Suárez, have been reported by the marine conservation organization.

In 2006, Oceana provided information to a court in Florida (USA) to support a case against Vidal Pego. He pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice, and the process ended with a sentence for which he was condemned to pay a $ 400,000 fine and a probation period of 4 years. The main charges for which he was charged were illegal importation and attempted to sale 26 tonnes of Antarctic hake or polar cod through the port of Miami (USA) in 2004.

Antonio Vidal Pego surrendered to U.S. justice on 19 April 2006, after the Interpol issued an international arrest warrant. The Galician company Vidal Armadores SA has been identified many times as owner, co-owner or operator of fishing vessels involved in IUU fishing activities in the past.