The Balearic Islands will call for specific changes to European Mediterranean fisheries policy when Joan Simonet, Regional Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and the Natural Environment, travels to Brussels on 3 September for a meeting with European Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans Costas Kadis. Fisheries representatives from the Balearic Islands, Catalonia, the Valencian Community, the Region of Murcia and Andalusia will take part, with the Balearic delegation advocating recognition of insularity, more regionalised and co-managed fisheries management, and a review of the Western Mediterranean Multiannual Plan.

Simonet will be accompanied by Director General for Fisheries Antoni M. Grau. Kadis convened the meeting following the joint proposal submitted by the five Mediterranean autonomous communities in May, which called for reforms to European fisheries regulations to adapt them to the realities of the Mediterranean.

The meeting will provide an opportunity to hear the European Commission’s response to the proposals and determine its willingness to turn them into specific amendments to EU regulations.

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Balearic Islands to call for changes to Mediterranean fisheries policy and recognition of insularity in Brussels

“We welcome the fact that the Commissioner has personally convened the five Mediterranean communities. In May, we presented specific proposals and now we want to know how far the Commission is prepared to go in adapting European fisheries policy to a reality it is familiar with and which, in the case of the Balearic Islands, the Commissioner himself was able to see first-hand,” Simonet says.

The joint proposal calls for an Omnibus Fisheries Regulation allowing a specific review of the Common Fisheries Policy and several European regulations. Its aim is to preserve the progress achieved in environmental sustainability while restoring balance with the economic and social dimensions of sustainability.

Among the measures proposed is specific legal recognition for the Mediterranean coastal fleet, which is largely made up of small family businesses operating short fishing days and selling their catches daily at fish markets.

The five communities are also seeking greater regionalisation of fisheries management, simplification of certain control obligations, a review of how fishing effort is calculated and changes to the Multiannual Management Plan for demersal fisheries in the Western Mediterranean, which regulates, among other matters, the number of fishing days available to the trawler fleet.

They also want European decisions to incorporate economic and social indicators alongside biological criteria. The proposal includes reviewing the system under which the entire fishery is conditioned by the status of its most vulnerable species, as well as the double restriction currently applied to red shrimp through limits on both fishing days and catches.

The document sent to Brussels argues that the considerable efforts made by the Mediterranean fleet in recent years have contributed to the recovery of fisheries resources but have also had significant economic and social consequences. It highlights the continued loss of vessels and jobs, the ageing of the fleet and difficulties in ensuring generational renewal.

Insularity and co-management in the Balearic Islands

Within the joint position of the five Mediterranean communities, the Balearic Islands will focus particularly on recognition of their insular characteristics and the need to move towards more regionalised, co-managed fisheries.

The Balearic Government will argue that European fisheries policy should allow fisheries to be managed according to the ecological and socioeconomic characteristics of each area of the Mediterranean. It will also call for territorial administrations, fishermen, the scientific community and other stakeholders to have greater involvement in decision-making.

“We do not question the European Union’s environmental objectives. What we are saying is that sustainable fishing must be environmentally sustainable, but also economically and socially sustainable. To achieve this, decisions need to be brought closer to the territory and take into account the characteristics of each fishery,” Simonet stresses.

The Balearic Islands will also explain to Kadis the consequences that successive restrictions under the Multiannual Plan have had on the Islands’ trawler fleet. The reduction in fishing days, combined with the loss of vessels over the past decade, has resulted in a decline in fishing effort of more than 50% in ten years. Landed catches are now nearly 40% below the average recorded over the past thirty years.

For the Balearic Government, fisheries sustainability cannot be assessed solely from a biological perspective. It must also take into account the survival of fishing businesses, employment, the marketing of local products and the social and cultural heritage historically linked to fishing.

From Mallorca to Brussels

The 3 September meeting will continue the contact between the Balearic Government and Costas Kadis following the European Commissioner’s official visit to the Balearic Islands last February.

During that visit, Kadis was able to see the particular characteristics of Balearic fisheries, the operation of marine reserves and the co-management model developed on the Islands. He also visited the Palma Fish Market, met professional fishermen and toured the Pere Garau market, where he learned about the journey of local seafood from capture to sale.

“In February, we had the opportunity to show the Commissioner our reality directly from the ports, the boats, the fish market and the marine reserves. We now hope that this knowledge and the joint proposal we submitted in May can be translated into decisions,” Simonet says.

The Brussels meeting will also be particularly significant ahead of preparations for fishing opportunities for 2027. The Mediterranean communities will ask the European Commission to avoid further automatic reductions in fishing effort while the Multiannual Plan is being reviewed and to prioritise selectivity measures and management adapted to individual fisheries instead of further reductions in fishing days.

“The Mediterranean sector has made an enormous effort over recent years. The objective now must be for environmental recovery to be accompanied by economic and social recovery that allows boats to remain at sea, ensures generational renewal and preserves an activity that forms part of our economy, our food and our identity,” Simonet concludes.