Minister of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries, José Luis Aguirre, will present a proposal to Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas. Selective scrapping of the Mediterranean trawler fleet. This decision was taken after participating in the EU Council of Fisheries Ministers in 2024, where fishing quotas for the Western Mediterranean were discussed, and in this case, fishing days were set at 15 days.
The council member announced that the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries will propose new formulas. Distribute up to 4000 days of fishing effort across different base ports of the Valencian Community.
For three days, Aguirre, accompanied by Director General of Fisheries Francisco J. Espídos, maintained contacts with organizations from the national fisheries sector in Brussels to propose alternatives that could ensure the continuity of the Valencian fishing industry. In this sense, Considering the 9.5% reduction of quotas in the Western MediterraneanThis means a reduction in the number of permitted fishing days and catches, the advisor noted: “It is difficult to maintain a profitable economic activity by working only 30% of the year.”.
Aguirre also criticized the constant disruptions suffered by the Valencian fishing industry, adding: This decision will undermine the profitability of the sector and seriously jeopardize the continuity of fishing activity in the Valencian Community..
In this vein, he added, “the proposal would direct national scrapping funds entirely to the type of fisheries most affected by the agreement.” Specifically, he explained that “bottom trawlers made of wood should be top priority in scrapyards, given the lack of caulkers to repair them and insurance companies willing to include them in their clientele.”
In the case of the Valencian Community, This will mean the elimination of a total of 33 ships with these features, i.e. 16.5% of the 204 ships allocated to this activity.. “This is a measure from which other autonomous communities such as Andalusia, Murcia, the Balearic Islands and Catalonia can benefit,” he added.
It is worth remembering that the Director General of Fisheries had a meeting in Madrid a few days ago with the Secretary General of Fisheries of the Ministry and the sector itself. Espídos talked about, among other things, Recommended scrapping based on base ports where ships are locatedFor example, the Spanish Mediterranean prioritizes trawling and construction material such as wood.
Since the Valencian Community has represented autonomous communities in the Council of Fisheries Ministers of the European Union throughout this period, the council member attended the plenary sessions in Brussels. This afternoon the councilor will hand over representation to his Canarian colleague.