Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Luis Planas, was very clear upon arriving at the European Council headquarters in Brussels: the European Commission's proposal to reduce the number of days trawlers can operate by almost 80% is “absurd” and “unacceptable”.
Today, he will inform his European counterparts, flanked by the Ministers of France and Italy, with whom he has formed a united front to negotiate new conditions during the meeting of fisheries ministers who will decide the fishing quotas for 2025. The intention of Madrid, Paris, and Rome is to work constructively to find a compromise solution, but if this is not achieved, they could end up blocking the agreement on fishing quotas in negotiations that are expected to be tense and, if everything goes as planned, could very well extend into the early hours of the morning.
The issue lies in the proposal put forward by the former Commissioner for Environment, Oceans, and Fisheries, Virginijus Sinkevicius, who wants to limit bottom trawling to a maximum of 27 days per year. This means that, on average, fishing activity in the three affected countries –Spain, France, and Italy– will be reduced by 66%, with Spain facing a reduction of up to 79%. Up until now, the average number of working days per year was 130. Additionally, Brussels' plan also entails a 30% reduction in the catch limits for red shrimp, down to only 551 tons per year.
The European Commission's proposal is part of a multi-annual plan adopted in 2019, which came into effect in 2020, aimed at achieving the so-called maximum sustainable yield of various species by 2025 to ensure their populations do not disappear. Up to 2024, there was a transitional period that has already led to a 40% reduction in fishing days. However, Brussels considers that the efforts are not sufficient, citing scientific evidence that demonstrates that some fish populations, such as hake, are in a poor state.
The negotiations are expected to be lengthy, and Spain, France, and Italy will stand united against the proposal
This has raised concerns within the fishing sector, which yesterday demonstrated in front of the European Commission headquarters in Madrid. Today, they are also expected to protest in Brussels against what they see as a death threat for those affected: 556 trawler ships, 3,000 jobs on board (10% of the total Spanish fleet), and 14,000 indirect jobs.
It affects Catalonia especially, with around 200 active boats representing 60% of fish sales in Catalan fish markets in 2023, according to Ports de la Generalitat. Catalan fishing boats remained moored yesterday and will not go out today either as a protest.
Fishermen believe that these measures would mean the disappearance of the 556 boats that make up the trawling fleet along the entire Mediterranean coast, because it would not be profitable for anyone to work so few days, and they would also affect the rest of the fishing modalities. “From an economic point of view, it's absurd. The economic impact has not been taken into account,” Minister Planas stated yesterday. “It means not taking into account the efforts of our fishermen over the past five years. We have reduced the number of working days by up to 40%, and now the balance between profitability and sustainability is clearly in danger,” he warned from Brussels.
In this case, unity is total, from the Government, in the affected autonomous communities, in the sector, and in the political parties. Eurodeputies of all stripes are exerting pressure in the European Parliament to halt the proposal. This type of agreement is not approved unanimously, but by qualified majority, which means that if Spain, France, and Italy manage to convince any other country - something that would not be difficult - they can block it. These three countries come with a joint proposal, and diplomatic sources are confident that a satisfactory solution can be reached because it is “difficult” to impose this plan when the three affected countries are against it.
At the moment, the Hungarian presidency of the EU Council has taken note, and during the morning of this Tuesday, it will present its proposal, after which the real negotiation will begin. “I am a deeply European Spanish person and I am concerned that proposals like this are made, because they encourage those who believe that the problem lies within the EU and not the solution,” lamented Planas.
