The Government of the Region of Murcia defended this Thursday in Brussels the need for a new fishing policy that allows gradually recovering the working days of the Mediterranean fleet until reaching 180 working days in 2027. This was conveyed by the counselor of Water, Agriculture, Livestock, and Fishing, Joaquín Buendía, to the European Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans, Costas Kadis.
Buendía participated in a meeting with Kadis along with the fishing representatives of the autonomous communities of the Spanish Mediterranean arc, where they presented proposals to reconcile the conservation of fishing resources with the economic and social viability of the activity, according to the Community.
"Our fishermen have more than met the environmental objectives and the resources of the Mediterranean are recovering. After years of cuts, the time has come for that effort to also have a response from Europe and guarantee the future of our fleet," said the counselor.
The regional Executive maintains that the improvement of fishing grounds must translate into a gradual increase in activity days until reaching 180 days in 2027. Buendía emphasized that the defense of marine resources "is an obligation we share and that no one questions," but demanded that European decisions also consider the economic and social sustainability of the fishing sector.
"We are not asking to lower the protection objectives of the Mediterranean. We are asking that the tools to achieve them be provided, effective, and adapted to the reality of our fishing. Sustainability must be environmental, but also economic and social," he highlighted.
They demand to adapt the regulations to the reality of the Mediterranean fleet
In the meeting, the regional Government also defended the need to adapt and simplify certain provisions of the Common Fisheries Policy and the Control Regulation to the particularities of the Mediterranean fleet. According to data from the regional Executive, more than 80% of the vessels are artisanal and measure less than 12 meters in length.
Among the proposed measures, the Community suggests prioritizing catch controls on land and weighing at the auction, eliminating the obligation to notify in advance of entering port, and removing the so-called clause of the most vulnerable species, which can limit the activity of the entire fleet due to the situation of a single species.
"Europe has to protect resources, but with rules that are proportionate and adapted to the reality of our fleet. One cannot manage artisanal and multi-species fishing in the same way as other European fishing realities," Buendía pointed out.
The counselor also insisted that the participation of regions and the sector itself in the formulation of the rules that condition fishing be reinforced. "Those who know our fishing grounds must have a voice in the decisions that affect their future. We need more science, more knowledge of the territory, and more participation from the regions and the sector itself, through their brotherhoods," he indicated.
Buendía also warned about the importance of ensuring generational change in fishing activity and cautioned that "we cannot protect fishing and forget to protect the fishermen as well."
Finally, the regional Government demanded that the next Multiannual Financial Framework of the European Union 2028-2034 include a specific, stable, and "sufficiently funded" fund for fishing. It also demanded that the brotherhoods of fishermen be able to access European aid directly, an option that, according to the Community, is not provided for in the current European Maritime, Fisheries, and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF).