The Motril trawling fleet is facing a drastic cut for 2026, imposed by the EU, which limits fishing to a mere ten days a year during next year.

Dismayed is an understatement because they have continually made sacrifices, playing by the EC rules which have allowed the fishing grounds to recover. Yet, now this…

The Head of the Motril Fishermen’s Association, Ignacio López, remarked, “I don’t understand how they can propose something like this. We’ve been making sacrifices for years to recover our fishing grounds, and now they’re going to take away the days we’ve gained. It’s institutional terrorism, an unacceptable cut.”

According to the association Chairman or Head Skipper, since 2020 the trawling fleet has strictly complied with the measures imposed by Europe by reducing fishing days, adapting the vessels to the regulations, and respecting the designated rest days. “We’ve allowed the fishing grounds to recover, we’ve invested in technology that uses less fuel and is more respectful of the seabed.” “And yet, we are faced with this proposal,” he adds.

In 2019, a multi-year management plan for demersal fish stocks in the western Mediterranean was agreed upon, establishing a progressive reduction in fishing days between 2020 and 2024 and implementing selectivity measures for vessels.

As a quick explanation, demersal fish, also known as groundfish, live and feed on or near the bottom of sea in coastal waters, near the continental shelf, or on its slope or along its rise. In other words, they are bottom feeders as opposed to pelagic fish, which live and feed away from the bottom in the open water column.

In 2024, Spain, France, and Italy signed a joint declaration requesting a moratorium on the plan and halting the EC’s harshest proposals, arguing that fishing grounds were recovering and that the restrictions could harm the fleets.

Last year, fishermen managed to achieve an average of 130 fishing days after lengthy negotiations with the EC, which initially proposed a mere 27 days. Now, the proposal for 2026 aims to reduce that figure to just 10 days, which would make it impossible for vessels to fish profitably.

“It’s not just an economic issue; it’s a matter of survival for the families who depend on fishing,” said Ignacio López, adding, “Many fishermen would be left without income and without a future.”

This situation has generated frustration and concern along the entire Costa Tropical, where many fishermen are already planning to look for other jobs to support their families.

The Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, assures that he will fight to increase fishing days in the negotiations at the next Fisheries Council meeting, to be held next week in Brussels.

Strangely… affected fishermen aren’t satisfied with just promises of taking action

This year, the Government reached an agreement with regional governments with on the Mediterranean coastline allowing fishermen to extend their fishing days if they modernised their nets and adopted technologies like flying doors, which reduce the environmental impact of trawling. However, the latest European proposals seem to ignore these advances and sacrifices.

“They’re asking us to invest in 30-year-old boats, in technology that costs thousands of euros, without knowing if we’ll be able to fish the necessary days to make it profitable. Who will want to work in fishing under these conditions?” reasoned López.

Editorial comment: whilst you can’t help feeling sympathy for the fishing industry, the truth is that they over-fished their own breeding ground then set about over-fishing everybody else’s. They wanted access to Moroccan fishing grounds and pushed the EC to strike deal with the Moroccan Government but although the latter agreed, it was at the price of flooding the EU with their vegetable produce, mainly tomatoes. The Result? You get Motril vega farmers ransacking lorries carrying Moroccan tomatoes as they leave Motril Port, demanding a stop to the imports. The moral of the story is, you can’t please everybody… sometimes, not even ‘anybody.’

(News: Motril, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia – Source/Photo: Ideal/MJ Arrebola)

Keywords: Fishing Fleet, Trawlers, EC, Fishing Restrictions, Motril Port

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