Spanish distant-water fleet presses EU: calls for revision of Common Fisheries Policy and a €72.9 billion dedicated fund

Spanish shipowners, meeting at the 30th Technical Dissemination Seminar for the Fisheries Sector held in Vivero, Galicia, from 5 to 7 November, called for the EU to revise the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) so that vessels can be modernised and businesses kept operating. The event was convened by the Celeiro fishermen's brotherhood (Santiago Apóstol de Celeiro) through OPP-77, with around 450 people registered to attend online and in person, and discussion focused on the gap between EU requirements and the fleet's economic conditions.

The economic diagnosis was presented by Edelmiro Ulloa, general manager of the Vigo Port Fishing Shipowners' Cooperative (ARVI). According to his figures, the Spanish deep-sea and large-scale distant-water fleet currently has 322 active vessels, annual turnover of close to €1.5 billion, gross value added of more than €530 million, and direct employment estimated at more than 6,500 annual work units (measured in full-time equivalents). The ARVI report also counted a reduction of 228 vessels in the distant-water segment analysed. Ulloa warned that once capacity is lost, restoring it is extremely difficult. Shipowners argue that this decline undermines their own food production capacity and increases dependence on external supply.

On specific demands, Ulloa proposed establishing a special register for the distant-water fishing fleet and providing tax incentives for shipowning companies and their crews, modelled on existing instruments for the merchant fleet, with the aim of boosting the competitiveness of vessels still in operation and encouraging the investment needed to renew them. The seminar also linked fleet shrinkage to the loss of employment and activity in coastal communities.

Javier Garat Perez, secretary-general of the Spanish Fisheries Confederation (CEPESCA) and president of Europêche, together with CEPESCA vice-president Iván López van der Veen, questioned the European Commission's response to its "2040 vision", arguing that the expected changes remain at a stage lacking concrete measures. Garat called for a review of the landing obligation, saying its enforcement continues to create operational difficulties for the fleet, and for a change to the definition of fishing capacity so that regulation favours investment in vessel modernisation and lower energy consumption. On total allowable catches (TACs) and quotas, participants argued for incorporating more socio-economic criteria when setting fishing opportunities, taking into account the impact on businesses and employment while also safeguarding the conservation of exploited stocks.

Garat also pointed to a contradiction in European fisheries: marine resource recovery is occurring at the same time as fleet and fisheries employment shrink. He questioned when biological improvement would translate into greater fishing opportunities, while Europe meanwhile increases its dependence on fishery products from third countries. Garat and López partly attributed the delay in reform to differences between the political orientation of Fisheries Commissioner Costas Kadis and the way the Directorate-General for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries (DG MARE) operates.

Discussion also covered fleets operating outside European waters. Juan Martín Fragueiro, general manager of OPROMAR, expressed concern about the prospects for fisheries agreements with third countries and the situation of vessels operating in Mauritania, arguing that these agreements have lost priority on the EU agenda despite their importance for maintaining access to fishing grounds.

Marta Villaverde, regional minister for maritime affairs in the Galician regional government, defended a dedicated fisheries and aquaculture instrument in the negotiations on the 2028–2034 multiannual financial framework, advocating a minimum allocation of €7.29 billion, in line with the European Parliament's demands. Sector representatives warned that without a dedicated fund, fisheries would have to compete in national allocation mechanisms with larger economic activities. Garat said this arrangement poses a risk to producer organisations, which support commercialisation, promotion and innovation projects; concerns also relate to the local fisheries action groups (GALP) tied to entrepreneurship and employment in coastal communities. Villaverde also called for simplified administrative procedures and effective participation of fishing regions in European decision-making.

Against the backdrop of uncertain funding allocations, López suggested that producer organisations prepare joint projects, bring in technical partners and seek access to European innovation and decarbonisation funding channels.

Fernando González Laxe, a professor at the University of A Coruña, questioned the rigidity of the Common Fisheries Policy in the face of economic and geopolitical change, arguing for placing fisheries within increasingly intense international competition for resources and calling for Spain and Galicia to engage more firmly in EU decision-making. Julio Morón, president of CEPESCA, called on fisheries organisations to strengthen unified action so as to reinforce dialogue with European institutions on the basis of a common position.

According to the General Administration of Customs' import and export statistics for December 2025, Spain's exports of Alaska pollock (under HS codes 03036700 frozen Alaska pollock, 03047500 frozen Alaska pollock fillets and 03049400 frozen Alaska pollock meat) that month totalled 478.009 tonnes, with an export value of USD 1,383,043.0 and an average export price of USD 2,893.34 per tonne.