The Ibizan platform Pereyna de Pesca Recreativa y Náutica de las Pitiüses is part of a broader movement that is taking shape in different parts of Spain in rejection of the state measure that, from January 10, will force to record the outputs and catches through the app PescaREC. Its spokesman, Diego Alcalde, explains that associations from Galicia, Andalusia, Valencia and the Canary Islands are in permanent contact to analyze the implementation of the application and coordinate a common response.
According to Alcalde, this group of entities is already working on appeals and formal actions against the measure, considering that the regulation comes too quickly and with aspects yet to be defined. “We are already preparing appeals and, if necessary, we will go further,” he says, referring to the steps they are considering to stop the regulation. “We’ll see how it all turns out. Right now it’s all very fresh… we’ll see how it’s going to develop,” he adds.
The critical associations agree on several points: they consider that the app will impose a disproportionate burden on many recreationalists who go out very few days a year; they warn of the digital divide that may leave out older people or those without smartphones; and they question that a single system is proposed for very different realities, from occasional coastal fishermen to boats that go out more frequently.
A unified Balearic voice
In addition to state coordination, the Pitiusas islands are promoting the creation of a unified Balearic association that brings together recreational fishing in Mallorca, Menorca, Ibiza and Formentera. The aim is to articulate a common voice before the regional and state administration and to present coordinated proposals on fisheries management, sustainability and control.
At the same time, the group is still waiting for the Government to clarify how PescaREC will fit in with the existing tools in the Balearic Islands. The associations maintain contacts and analyze regulatory documents, in the expectation that in the coming weeks it will be clearly defined how the new digital obligation should be applied.
