Joint statement from the ministry and the fisheries sector.
El Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación
The Spanish General Secretariat for Fisheries, together with the National Federation of Fishermen’s Guilds (FNCP) and the Spanish Confederation of Fisheries, has reached an agreement to make the European Fisheries Control Regulation, approved on January 10, more flexible.
In this way, fisheries representatives state that they will be able to comply with the newly established requirements without undermining the operational capacity of the fleet or control activities.
Regarding the recording of catches by species from zero kilograms, when these are below 50 kilograms, the Secretariat has determined that errors or omissions in estimating quantities in the logbook will not constitute an infringement.
Along the same lines, a request will be made to the European Commission (EC) so that errors made in records for quantities below 50 kilograms per species are not considered non-compliance. In addition, it will be requested that such errors cannot be classified as a serious infringement.
All of this will be presented next January 26 at the EU Agriculture and Fisheries Council to be held in Brussels, where the aforementioned issues will be formally submitted.
Finally, the resolution will include that the obligation to provide information on catches per fishing operation will be considered fulfilled when such information is provided at least once a day, before entering port, or at the place of landing.
Since the notification will be carried out at the moment the vessel sets course for port, the deadline may be shorter than the four hours established in the regulation.
Exceptions to this will apply in cases where specific deadlines for prior notification already exist, or for vessels that are subject to the obligation of advance notice.
The European Commission published its 2025 annual economic report on the EU fishing fleet, estimating operating profits of €567 million for 2025, continuing an upward trend from 2023 and 2024.
According to the report, several factors appear to be shaping the improved outlook. The Commission attributes part of the progress to stock recovery, noting that healthier fish populations tend to result in larger catches and thus in turn larger revenues.
Furthermore, EC launched a public consultation on revising the Marine Strategy Framework Directive, the EU's main set of rules for looking after the health of Europe’s seas, following an assessment that found the EU has failed to meet its own targets for the health of marine waters.