Spain appeals EU bottom fishing ban, arguing it overlooks socio-economic impacts on fishing, proposing talks for longline exclusion
The Spanish government has decided to appeal the General Court’s ruling on the prohibition of bottom fishing in certain Atlantic zones designated as vulnerable marine ecosystems.
This decision comes after the General Court rejected Spain’s appeal in November 2022 against the European regulation that established these zones.
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food, Luis Planas, stated that the appeal to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) is based on extensive consultation with state legal services, which confirmed sufficient grounds for the appeal. The ministry has also engaged with affected autonomous communities, Galicia and Asturias, and fishing sector organizations.
The Ministry argues that the General Court’s ruling failed to consider the socio-economic impact of the measure, which contradicts the principles of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The CFP bases sustainability on three pillars: environmental, economic, and social. According to the Ministry, legislators are obligated to specifically and thoroughly weigh the interest of marine environment protection against the interests of those engaged in fishing activities and the socio-economic aspects of these activities.
“It seems logical to us that the European Commission has broad discretion to decide on the protection of vulnerable marine areas, but it cannot exclude the economic and social aspects of the measures adopted, because they are not merely environmental,” Minister Planas remarked.
This argument was previously put forth by the Spanish Government in its November 2022 annulment appeal against the European Commission’s Implementing Regulation 2022/1614. This regulation prohibits fishing in 87 areas of the Atlantic shelf at depths between 400 and 800 meters, identified as vulnerable marine ecosystems. The regulation was also challenged by the Fishermen’s Producers Organization of Burela Port (Lugo). The General Court rejected this appeal in a ruling published on June 11, which is now being appealed.
The Ministry asserts that the regulation’s implementation, effective since October 2022, has significantly impacted the bottom longline fleet, leading to an average 32% reduction in hake catches per vessel, and a 39% reduction in Burela’s fish market, a key hub for this species. In addition to the appeal, Luis Planas announced that the Ministry is open to dialogue and negotiation with the Commission to exclude bottom longline fishing from the prohibition in these vulnerable areas, deeming the current situation “profoundly unjust.”
The Minister further explained that scientific reports indicate that bottom longline fishing has a very low impact on marine floors and that hake, the primary species caught, does not inhabit areas in contact with the seabed. He highlighted that the European Commission did not consider these reports when approving the regulation on vulnerable marine ecosystems. The Minister concluded, “it is profoundly unjust that the prohibition is applied to the bottom longline fleet, a fleet that has made a very important effort to convert to a more sustainable art and deserves support.”