The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Natural Environment, Joan Simonet, plans to travel on September 3 to Brussels to attend the meeting convened by the European Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans, Costas Kadis, with the top officials of Fisheries from the Balearic Islands, Catalonia, Valencian Community, Region of Murcia, and Andalusia.
In this meeting, which Simonet will attend along with the Director General of Fisheries, Antoni M. Grau, continuity will be given to the initiative promoted by the five communities, which in May sent a joint letter to the commissioner requesting adjustments to the European fishing regulations to better adapt them to the specific situation of the Mediterranean, according to the Conselleria in a statement.
The meeting will serve to learn firsthand the response of the European Commission to the requests made by these territories and, above all, to verify to what extent there is a willingness to transform them into concrete changes in community legislation.
"We appreciate that the commissioner has personally convened the five Mediterranean communities. In May, we presented him with concrete proposals, and now we want to know how far the Commission is willing to go to adapt European fishing policy to a reality that it knows and that, in the case of the Islands, the commissioner himself was able to verify on the ground," Simonet has pointed out.
The joint initiative proposes the approval of an Omnibus Regulation on fishing that enables a specific review of the Common Fisheries Policy and various European regulations related to the management of marine resources.
The purpose is to consolidate the achievements made in environmental sustainability and, simultaneously, to restore the balance with the other two pillars of sustainability: the economic and the social.
Among the main measures proposed are the differentiated legal recognition of the Mediterranean coastal fleet, largely made up of small family businesses that make short trips and sell their catches daily at the auction; greater regionalization of management; the simplification of certain control obligations; the review of the system for calculating fishing effort, and adjustments to the Multiannual Management Plan for demersal fishing in the western Mediterranean, which establishes, among other aspects, the working days of the trawler fleet.
The five communities also demand that economic and social indicators be incorporated into the decisions of the European Union alongside biological criteria, as well as the review of the mechanism that subordinates all fishing to the status of the most vulnerable species and the double limitation that currently affects the red shrimp, subjected to both restrictions on fishing days and on catch volume.
In the document sent to Brussels, it is defended that the notable effort made by the Mediterranean fleet in recent years has contributed to the recovery of fishery resources, but has also brought significant economic and social impacts for the sector.
The text warns of the continued reduction of boats and jobs, the aging of the fleet, and the increasing difficulties in ensuring generational renewal.
Defense of insularity and co-management
Within the framework of this common position, the Balearic Islands will focus their intervention on claiming the recognition of insular uniqueness and the need to move towards a more regionalized management of fishing grounds, based on co-management.
The Government will propose that European fishing policy allow for the management of fisheries taking into account the ecological and socio-economic particularities of each area of the Mediterranean, and that it grants greater weight in decision-making to territorial administrations, the fishing sector, the scientific community, and other involved actors.
"We do not question the environmental objectives of the European Union. What we defend is that sustainable fishing must be environmentally, but also economically and socially sustainable. And to achieve this we need decisions to be closer to the territory and take into account the characteristics of each fishery," Simonet emphasized.
The Balearic Executive will also explain to Kadis the impact that the successive restrictions of the Multiannual Plan have had on the trawler fleet of the Islands.
According to data from the Conselleria, the reduction of fishing days, combined with the loss of vessels recorded in the last decade, has resulted in a decline in fishing effort of over 50 percent in ten years and landings that are around 40 percent below the average of the last 30 years.
For the Govern, these figures show that the sustainability of fishing cannot be measured solely from the biological perspective, but must also consider the viability of fishing companies, the maintenance of employment, the marketing of local products, and the preservation of the social and cultural heritage historically linked to fishing activity.
From Mallorca to Brussels
The meeting on September 3 will continue the contact initiated between the Govern and the European Commissioner during his official visit to the Balearic Islands last February.
During that trip, Kadis was able to learn firsthand about the particularities of Balearic fishing, the functioning of marine reserves, and the co-management model developed in the Islands.
He also visited the Fish Market of Palma, held meetings with professional fishermen, and toured the Pere Garau market, where he observed the journey of local fish products from capture to final sale.
"In February we had the opportunity to show the commissioner our reality directly from the ports, the boats, the market, and the marine reserves. Now we hope that this knowledge and the joint proposal we presented in May can translate into decisions," says Simonet.
The meeting in Brussels will also have added importance in the context of preparing fishing possibilities for 2027. Mediterranean communities will ask the Commission to avoid new automatic reductions in fishing effort while the Multiannual Plan is reviewed and to prioritize selectivity and management measures tailored to each fishery over additional cuts in days.
"The Mediterranean sector has made a huge effort in recent years. The goal now must be that environmental recovery is also accompanied by economic and social recovery that allows boats to remain at sea, guarantees generational renewal, and preserves an activity that is part of our economy, our food, and our identity," concluded the councilor.