Fisheries management measures in the Med are yielding results

Spain’s fisheries management measures in the Mediterranean are yielding results, the Minister for Agriculture has said.

The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, has highlighted the efforts of the fishing sector as a whole to fulfil its commitments to the Mediterranean management plan – this is the second year of application – that has led to results that point in the right direction for the protection of fishery resources.

Spain is “firmly committed to improving the state of resources in the Mediterranean” because it is aware of the delicate situation in which resources find themselves, Planas said.

Planas said that the multi-annual EU plan for the Mediterranean must be based on balanced measures with a comprehensive approach, based on scientific foundations and with sufficient time to assess the effects of those already implemented before deciding on new actions. He added that Spain has proposed a plan of complementary measures in terms of closed seasons and more selective trawling gear.

Trawling is particularly relevant in the Mediterranean, with 580 vessels representing 75 per cent of the national total. Overall, the fleet operating in this sea consists of 2,279 vessels, 27 per cent of the national fleet, which caught 69,958 tonnes of fish in 2020, five per cent less than in the previous year.

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