The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA) has already posted on its website the quick guide and instructions for using PescaREC, the application with which recreational fishermen must register and declare catches. However, the app is not yet available for download and, above all, the Order that would give it legal coverage has not been published in the Official State Gazette (BOE), a key step for the obligation to be fully enforceable.
In fact, the Ministry’s document itself introduces a clause that conditions the date of entry into force: the use of PescaREC will be mandatory “from January 10, 2026 or, as the case may be, from the date of publication in the BOE of the Order that establishes this obligation, if this is later”.
The instructions also clarify that PescaREC is aimed at all persons practicing recreational sea fishing – from land, boat, underwater or floating artifacts – provided they have a license issued by an autonomous community.
A context of unrest in the Pitiusas and coordination with associations in other regions
The publication of these instructions comes a month after associations of recreational fishermen of Ibiza and Formentera warned of the rejection generated by the measure in the sector, especially by the obligation to register the activity through an app.
In Ibiza, the Pereyna platform defended that it is an “exaggerated” system and announced that, together with associations from other communities, they were working on appeals and formal actions to try to stop the implementation.
Meanwhile, in Formentera the recreational sector was less upfront about the substance – the need for control – but questioned the format and demanded clear solutions for those who cannot or do not know how to use a digital system.
According to La Voz de Ibiza, fishermen on the island are expectant about the issue and the delay in the publication of the app generates uncertainty.
Delegating the declaration: the Ministry says it is not essential to have one’s own cell phone
One of the points that the Ministry details in these instructions is that it is not strictly necessary for the fisherman to have the app installed on his own cell phone. According to the document, the fisherman can delegate the declarations to another natural or legal person authorized to act on his behalf, if he so considers.
This nuance is relevant because it responds, at least partially, to one of the criticisms expressed by recreational fishermen in Ibiza and Formentera: the difficulty of an exclusively digital system for older people or those unfamiliar with applications.
For now, the quick guide of the Ministry describes the expected operation of PescaREC and points out that the application will be available for free download on Google Play and App Store, in addition to offering a contact email for doubts. But, with the app still out of the marketplaces and the Order pending publication, the actual entry into force of the obligation is, according to the Ministry itself, linked to this administrative step.
The situation opens a scenario of uncertainty in the recreational sector: the original calendar pointed to January 10, but the official instructions themselves leave the door open for the obligation to be activated later, if the Order arrives later.
