Two Spanish Seafood Organizations Criticize EU 2040 Fisheries Vision for Lack of Concrete Measures, Warn of 41.45% Shrinkage in Distant-Water Fleet
The Spanish National Association of Canned Fish and Seafood Manufacturers (ANFACO-CYTMA) and the Vigo Port Fishing Vessel Owners' Cooperative (ARVI) separately criticized the European Commission's 2040 Fisheries and Aquaculture Vision Strategy for postponing key decisions and lacking funding and trade safeguards, citing data showing that Spain's distant-water fleet shrank by 228 vessels between 2010 and 2025.
Vigo news—Two major organizations of the seafood harvesting and processing complex headquartered in Vigo, Spain, namely the National Association of Canned Fish and Seafood Manufacturers (ANFACO-CYTMA) and the Vigo Port Fishing Vessel Owners' Cooperative (ARVI), have expressed serious concern and sharp criticism following the European Commission's release of the 2040 Fisheries and Aquaculture Vision Strategy. Representing the harvesting and industrial processing segments respectively, both bodies believe that the roadmap put forward by EU Commissioner for Fisheries and Oceans Kostas Kadis postpones key decisions and lacks the ambition and actionable measures needed to safeguard Europe's food sovereignty and commercial viability.
ARVI's assessment was blunt: the European Commission has shown a kind of "blindness" that directly threatens to sacrifice Europe's fishing operations. The vessel owners' cooperative believes that after more than two years of stakeholder consultations, in which industry representatives repeatedly argued for the urgency of reforming the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), Brussels chose to retain the 2013 baseline regulatory framework while deferring necessary structural reforms to the distant future. ARVI noted that Brussels envisions a modern, competitive, profitable and decarbonized fleet by 2040, yet continues to ignore the immediate regulatory and economic burdens forcing vessels out of operation. Pressing structural problems remain unresolved, including the rigid enforcement of the landing obligation and restrictive fishing capacity caps that hinder the renewal of aging vessels.
To illustrate the scale of the crisis, ARVI cited a recent fleet analysis by a Vigo producer organization: between 2010 and 2025, a total of 228 vessels disappeared, equivalent to a 41.45% reduction in Spain's high-seas and distant-water fleet. This contraction corresponds to an annual production capacity loss valued at EUR 809 million (USD 874 million) and involves approximately 4,950 full-time direct jobs. The vessel owners' association therefore urged the European Parliament to correct the policy direction set by the European Commission.
ANFACO-CYTMA expressed reserved concern while welcoming the European Commission's formal acknowledgment that more than 60% of all seafood consumed in the EU comes from third-country imports. This reality places raw material supply security, diversification and supply chain resilience at the core of European strategic planning. However, the processing association criticized the roadmap for lacking concrete implementation measures and for failing to explicitly designate the seafood processing sector as a key pillar of the continent's food security.
The industry association stressed that without a dedicated financing mechanism within the upcoming Multiannual Financial Framework, goals such as decarbonization, plant modernization, digital transformation and generational renewal will not be achieved. On commercial trade policy, ANFACO-CYTMA emphasized that the negotiation and modernization of international trade agreements must guarantee genuine reciprocity (a level playing field), strong safeguard mechanisms, and the mandatory international rollout of the CATCH platform to eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing. In addition, the association expressed caution regarding proposals for mandatory digital traceability of processed products or linking sustainability conditions to the autonomous tariff quota (ATQ) mechanism, noting that ATQs remain a vital lifeline for raw material access and industrial processing viability across Europe.
ANFACO-CYTMA Secretary-General Roberto Alonso set out the industry's position: "The 2040 Vision correctly identifies several major challenges facing the sector, including external dependence, food supply security, technological innovation, the energy transition and global competition. However, these diagnoses must now be translated into concrete, actionable measures. Europe must strengthen the competitiveness of the entire seafood value chain, preserve a strong processing industry, drive blue innovation, and guarantee that European operators enjoy a genuine level playing field."