Although the recent agreement between member states of the European Union and the European Commission in relation to trawling in the Mediterranean Sea has brought relief to Spanish fishermen, caution still remains. “The fine print is still missing”, as pointed out by sector referents. But, in the case of the Balearic Islands, there is one more factor that comes into play with the new measures: the fishing quota in the islands will depend on how the rest of the regions of the country adapt their activity to the points established by the compensation mechanism.
As resolved in Brussels after two days of intense negotiations, the number of annual slaughter days will be reduced by 79% (from 130 to 27), but a compensation mechanism will restore the current number of days. This compensation mechanism consists of 12 measures. As explained by the new European Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans, Costa Kadis, fishermen will be able to maintain their quota of days “if they commit to selectivity” (the ability of fishing methods to select the desired fish and sizes), to the closure of sea areas to fishing and to the use of “innovative” fishing tools. Iván Pérez, president of the Fishermen’s Guild of Formentera, told La Voz de Ibiza that several of these measures arise from proposals made by the fishermen themselves. And that in the case of the smaller Pitusas, “there are many things we already do, such as biological stoppages at certain depths.” “Of the 12 points of the compensation mechanism, we have already been doing 8”, he specified. His Balearic counterpart, Domingo Bonnín, agreed that the whole autonomous community has also been implementing many of these measures.
The national quota
The reception of the new measures has not been the same for all areas, they do not make the same reading, because they are different places, with different funds. However, the adaptation must occur throughout the sector nationwide to establish the number of days. If all the boats are not adapted, some of us are going to be harmed,” explained Perez. This happens because the European Union establishes national fishing quotas for each member state, based on the so-called principle of relative stability (which considers economic and social factors of each population). “The Balearic Islands is much more advanced in the sense that the new measures propose,” warned Perez. On the other hand, he clarified that “there have been many complaints” from areas where there is a lack of adaptation, such as the coast of Alicante, Valencia and Catalonia. The method of establishing quotas by country has had decades of conflicting opinions: there are those who criticize that it is unfair in those nations with very dissimilar regions (as would be the case in Spain). While several leaders of the sector have shown caution while awaiting the regulation of the new measures, the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, has been more than satisfied with the agreement reached. “In practical terms, fishermen will be able to have the same working days as in 2024,” he said.
