He Council of EU Fisheries Ministers (Agrifish) Next December 11 and 12 are not just another appointment on the community calendar, it is the meeting during which it is decided, with concrete figures, What margin will the Spanish fleet have in 2026? to operate in European Union (EU) waters, including national fishing zones and other Community waters. Taking into account the fact that our fleet carries out around 40% of its catches in EU watersthis Council determines to a large extent the capacity to generate activity, jobs and healthy food in one of the largest fishing economies in the Union.
In the negotiation, the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) many key species in Community waters and the fishing days of the trawlers of the Mediterranean and it is worth remembering: behind each ton authorized or cut, there is not a statistic, but rather active or moored ships, crews on duty or unemployed, and ports that live or leave, according to the pulse of extractive activity.
Spain faces these decisions this week with uncertainty and concern. Proposals to reduce quotas pout in the northwest of the Cantabrian Sea or crayfish in the Gulf of Cádiz, the sector is under tension. But we are more concerned by the proposal of the European Commission for the Mediterranean, which proposes as a starting point a 65% reduction in fishing days for the 557 vessels Spanish trawlers, a starting point of 9.6 days of fishing on average per boat. The multi-annual fisheries management plan in the Western Mediterranean, applied since 2020, has brought the trawl fleet to a breaking point. Our fishermen have been carrying out for years a notable effort of adaptation, investment and complianceand this commitment must be reflected in balanced, fact-based decisions rewarding the sector’s efforts.
The negotiation must therefore combining sustainability and viabilitybecause without the second the first is not viable. The annual setting of TACs and quotas cannot ignore three principles. Firstly, the scientific rigorincorporating the best available and up-to-date evidence. Secondly, a realistic socio-economic vision, because the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and the applicable regulations require considering the impact on coastal communities. And third, the fishing value chain. The activity does not end upon disembarkationbut extends to the market, the processing industry, traders, transport, the refrigeration industry, supplies, shipyards, ship repair and a SME network which generates economy and territorial cohesion.
When they apply disproportionate cuts or arbitrary decisionsthe damage multiplies. For the shipowner, this means uncertainty and difficulty in planning campaigns, investments and financing. For the fisherman, fewer days at sea, less income and less attraction to generational change. But also for auxiliary industries, a lower workload and a loss of competitiveness compared to third countries and for the consumer, less product offering, greater dependence on imports with less traceability and, in an inflationary context, upward pressure on prices.
Spain needs this Agrifish to recognize the strategic value of fishing as a generator of jobs, the blue economy and food sovereignty. We demand decisions based on science, of course, but also on proportionality, stability and a transition that leaves no one behind. The future of a sector that wants to continue to be part of the solution is at stake.
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