Brussels assures fishermen on Spain's Mediterranean coast they will be able to maintain same number of fishing days if sustainable measures are implemented

As for the Atlantic, pending the details of the agreement, it is expected that the quotas for southern hake, sole and monkfish will be increased, which will benefit the 1,200 vessels in the Cantabrian fleet

Olatz Hernández

Madrid

Wednesday, 11 December 2024, 22:55

There is good news for the Spanish fishing fleets of Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria and the Basque Country, but not so for those in the Mediterranean coast. EU agriculture and fisheries ministers concluded on Wednesday 11 December the distribution of catches and fishing opportunities in the European Union, in which compensatory measures have been agreed through which fishermen in the western Mediterranean will be able to maintain the 130 fishing days they have had this year, all subject to the fleet complying with selective fishing measures, according to the new Commissioner for Fisheries, Kostas Kadis.

As for the Atlantic, pending the details of the agreement, it is expected that the quotas for southern hake, sole and monkfish will be increased, which will benefit the 1,200 vessels in the Cantabrian fleet.

The pact - together with agreements with the United Kingdom and Norway - closes the total catches for 2025 for the European fleet and establishes the fishing opportunities for the 8,700 vessels in the Spanish fishing sector. Negotiations dragged on into the early hours of Wednesday morning because of the deadlock in the negotiations over quotas in the western Mediterranean.

France, Spain and Italy joined forces to reject the European Commission's proposal, which proposed a 66% cut in fishing days. For the Spanish agriculture and fisheries minister, Luís Planas, this proposal "was not a good basis" for negotiation because it was contrary to the interests of the fishing sector. In the end, an agreement has been reached that allows fishing days to be maintained if selective catching methods, closed areas and innovative fishing measures are applied.

The Spanish fleet was the most affected by this proposal with a requirement to reduce days by 79% and would allow activity on only 27 days per year. As for the Atlantic, Spain is pleased with the results, maintaining the total allowable catches (TAC), which proposes increases in catches of hake, monkfish, sole and mackerel.

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