Spanish Fishermen Protest EU Rules, Win Concessions

Yesterday, fishing ports and most fish markets across Spain stopped working. This was a protest by the fishing industry against new European rules for controlling fisheries. Fishermen from the Atlantic, Cantabrian Sea, and Mediterranean all warned that these new rules, which apply the same strict controls to all types of boats, make their work too rigid and focused on paperwork. They fear this could break down the entire fishing industry.

Protests also took place in various fishing communities across the Canary Islands. In Tenerife, fishermen gathered in places like Playa San Juan, Punta Hidalgo, Candelaria, and Los Cristianos.

Meanwhile, the industry's focus was on Madrid. Representatives from fishing communities across Spain met with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. Minister Luis Planas also attended this meeting.

After the meeting, José Basilio Otero, president of the National Federation of Fishermen's Guilds, shared the agreements made. One key point is that small mistakes in estimating catches (under 50 kilos per species) in the logbook will not be penalized, as long as the correct amounts are declared when the fish are landed.

Spain also committed to asking the European Commission to change the control regulation and its penalty system.

Another agreement was to remove the rule requiring fishermen to declare each catch as they bring it in. Instead, one daily report will be enough, to be sent before the boat enters port or lands its catch. Also, boats will only need to notify authorities when they start heading back to port, rather than giving four hours' notice, unless specific rules already require it.

The dispute began with changes to the EU Fisheries Control Regulation, approved in 2023. Many of its new rules became mandatory on January 10th.

Under this regulation, boats longer than 11.9 meters must, among other things, record and weigh all their catches from the moment they are caught. Their fishing logbooks must also be fully digital. Every batch of fish needs to be weighed, sorted by species, and linked to the specific boat, date, fishing area, and equipment used. Any mistake in this process could lead to fines.

This marks a big shift in how fishing is supervised, moving from checks mainly done at port to real-time tracking of entire fleets. Another highly debated point is the widespread use of satellite tracking systems (VMS), which must be on constantly for these types of vessels.

Ruyman Escuela Marcelino, a spokesperson for the Nuestra Señora de Las Mercedes guild in Los Cristianos, expressed the widespread frustration. "We're being forced to do office work, and all of it while we're at sea," he said. He believes fishermen are "monitored more strictly than someone who commits a robbery," under laws that are "not very forgiving" and "look for the smallest mistake to start an inspection."

He added that forcing digitalization ignores the realities of working at sea. "Expecting someone to use electronic devices while working shows a lack of understanding of our job. We can't turn our backs on a wave to fill out forms," he explained. José Lucio de León Díaz, head of the San Roque and Isla Baja Fishermen's Guild in Garachico, also shared his worries. At 39, with three generations of fishermen in his family, he fears the profession is dying out. "This is the beginning of the end. With these conditions, I'm seriously thinking about quitting," he admitted, criticizing a system that "imposes more rules and offers fewer incentives." Gilberto Sánchez, head of the Nuestra Señora de La Luz Guild in Playa San Juan, echoed these concerns, pointing out how disconnected the rules are from actual fishing. "What's the point of making us weigh and sort fish while we're trying to work?" he asked.