The meeting participants are captured in this photo, engaged in discussion. Photo: CEPESCA

Cepesca Takes Spanish Fishing Demands to Brussels in Historic Meeting

Confederation Insists on Reviewing Closure of 87 Bottom Fishing Zones and Defending Mediterranean Trawl Fishing Before MEPs and EP Fisheries Committee.

MADRID – The Spanish Fishing Confederation (Cepesca) has marked a milestone in its history by holding one of its Board of Directors meetings in Brussels for the first time, specifically on June 24 at the European employers' association Europêche headquarters in the Belgian capital. With this gesture, Spanish fishers, whom Cepesca represents, aimed to bring their demands closer to the political center where European fishing decisions are made. The main focus of their claims includes the urgent review of the closure of 87 bottom fishing zones in the Northeast Atlantic, the defense of Mediterranean trawl fishing, and the consolidation of fishing agreements with third countries.

During their stay in the Belgian capital, Cepesca's Board members held key meetings with various political parties and actively participated in the European Parliament's (EP) Fisheries Committee and the NAT Section of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC).

At the European Parliament, José María Gallart, Cepesca's Vice President for the Mediterranean and Gulf of Cadiz fishing grounds, presented at the event "The Future of Fishing in the Western Mediterranean: Towards Economically Sustainable Fishing and Prosperous Coastal Communities." At this forum, organized by MAPA (Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food) and the EPP and S&D groups, Gallart strongly defended the sustainability of Mediterranean trawl fishing. He also requested an immediate review of the Mediterranean management plan, which, since its entry into force in May 2020, has imposed a 40% reduction in fishing effort. Cepesca considers it "untenable" that, from an average of 230 fishing days per year in 2019, vessels can now only fish an average of 130 days.

Gallart underscored Andalusia's relevance in this context: "Andalusia is the most important fishing community in the Mediterranean with its 700 km of coastline, 13 fishing hubs, 630 vessels, and almost 17,000 families who live from fishing. The most important fishing method in the Mediterranean and the backbone of the entire sector," Gallart stressed, "is trawl fishing, and the future of the entire fishing sector depends on its survival."

Direct Dialogue with Key MEPs

The Cepesca delegation also held specific meetings with key figures in the European Parliament, including Carmen Crespo, Chairwoman of the EP Fisheries Committee, and MEPs from various political groups represented on this committee. Specifically, they met with Francisco Millán Mon (European People's Party - EPP), Oihane Aguirregoitia (EAJ-PNV), Nicolás González (Socialists and Democrats Group - S&D), and Nora Junco (ECR Group).

Cepesca conveyed its position on various issues of vital importance to the Spanish fishing sector, including the aforementioned Mediterranean management plan and the closure of 87 zones to bottom fishing in the Northeast Atlantic. This latter measure remains in effect after the EU General Court dismissed appeals filed against the implementing regulation by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA) and the Burela Fishermen's Producers' Organization (OPP).

Javier Garat, Secretary-General of Cepesca, argued that the regulation originating this closure should have excluded bottom longlining, a selective gear with minimal impact on the seabed. Garat noted that this gear was even "used as an example by the European Commission itself in debates prior to the approval of the Regulation that was adopted in 2016 and is the origin of the Implementing Regulation." He lamented that the regulation is "disproportionate, did not take into account the socio-economic consequences or the warnings from scientists at the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), who made it clear in their reports that data on the footprint of bottom longlining had not been considered, only that of trawling." This situation has led to very negative impacts on vessel owners using "pincho" gear, such as those from Burela or Celeiro, whose annual catch volumes have been reduced by around 30% since the closure came into force.

Garat urged the new Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans, Costas Kadis, to "reflect on the impact of these closures and propose the review of the Deep-Sea Access Regulation to exclude bottom longlining from its scope, as requested by most political groups represented in the European Parliament."

In these meetings, the Cepesca delegation also discussed the review of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), EU fishing agreements with third countries, the EU's participation in Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs), and the delegated and implementing acts of the Control Regulation.

EESC Advances on BBNJ and RFMO Opinions

Finally, Javier Garat, in his role as a member of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), and accompanied by Europêche's Director-General, Daniel Voces, also participated in the meeting of the EESC's Section for Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment (NAT). At this meeting, opinions were approved on the Agreement on Marine Biodiversity Beyond National Jurisdictions (BBNJ) and on the amendments to the Regulations concerning international fishing at the proposal of the EC transposing into EU law the conservation and control measures adopted by the Regional Fisheries Management Organizations (RFMOs). Garat was the rapporteur for both proposals, which were approved unanimously for the first, and with only one abstention for the second, marking important advances in international fishing regulation.

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