Ahead of upcoming the AgriFish meeting, the Fisheries Ministers of France, Spain and Italy are together pushing for a moratorium on further restrictions on fisheries in the Mediterranean.
Spanish minister Luis Planas, his French counterpart Fabrice Loher and Italian minister Francesco Lollobrigida held a tripartite meeting, the outcome of which is a joint declaration designed to draw the European Council’s attention to the Western Mediterranean multi-annual plan. The transitional period ends on 31st December, after which the European Commission is required to stick to an MSY approach.
There is concern in the three countries relating to the Commission’s intentions for the forthcoming stages of the multi-annual plan and especially for a further reduction in fishing effort for vessels using towed gear.
The three ministers argue that trawler fisheries operating in the Mediterranean have made significant efforts since 2020, and they state that there are altwernative measures available to making further drastic cuts in days at sea. They state in the joint declaration that more time is needed for the full positive effects on the dynamics of fish stocks to be visible.
Spain, France and Italy are jointly requesting that the European Commission freeze limiations at the current effort level, stating that the Mediterranean fishing sector has suffered significant negative socio-economic consequences due to restrictive management measures.
The three ministers argue that the implementation of the management plan, and in particular Article 6, with a strict interpretation of the scientific opinion, could lead to measures that are not acceptable to their national and local economies and that a cessation of trawler fishing efforts in 2025 would have an irreversible impact not only on this fleet sector, but also on the entire European fishing industry in the Western Mediterranean.
They point out that trawlers are the backbone of the fishing economy and that those operating in the Western Mediterranean are not able to survive any further reduction in fishing days.
