Spain, Portugal and France propose to fix fishing opportunities in the European Union for several years

Spain, Portugal and France proposed on Sunday in Brussels to start setting total catches and fishing quotas in EU waters for several years, with the aim of providing greater security for the sector.

The proposal was made by the three member states of the European Union during the meeting of the 27 fisheries ministers that began on Sunday in the Belgian capital in which to agree on fishing possibilities in the Mediterranean and the Atlantic for the next year, as it takes place in December of each year. year, Efe reports.

Spain is confident that the multi-year total allowable catch (TAC) formula can start to be applied in the second half of 2023, when the country takes over the bloc presidency, with a view to fishing opportunities from 2024.

“What I want, also based on the scientific studies we have, is that for 2023 we can already make a model for the Council (meeting of ministers) in December, of total catches and quotas allowed, which will be faster,” Spanish Fisheries Minister Luis Planas said before entering. 27th meeting.

Initially, the formula will be tested on some species in EU waters not shared with third countries. If the system proves viable, the idea is to expand it to more fish “stocks”.

“It just doesn’t seem logical that all of these discussions that we have every year are about fisheries as a whole,” Planas said.

He added that there was already “enough scientific knowledge” to be able to determine the total captives allowed which could be up to three years, “two or three years”.

This is “very important” from a business point of view, for “our shipowners and fishermen as it will certainly allow them to better plan their fishing activities”, I would argue.

The minister stressed that the document that includes the proposal submitted by Spain, France and Portugal proposes “the possibility of using quotas that are not used for one year in successive years.”

Planas stressed during the meeting that the fishing possibilities and multi-year quotas will allow “better organization” of the work of the ministers, in addition to helping the fisheries sector to plan its activity.

The European Union itself already sets a multi-year total crop for some deep-sea species.

He acknowledged that establishing fishing potential for several years had “important” advantages and acknowledged that it would make consultations on shared waters with the UK and Norway “more efficient”.

However, he cautioned that multi-year quotas could not apply to all species and called for testing the initiative with “overexploited” populations found in non-shared EU waters.

Denmark, Belgium, Greece and Croatia were among the countries that expressed interest in the proposal put forward by France, Spain and Portugal.