They will be able to carry out their activity 13 extra days in the Mediterranean in the remainder of 2025, which increases the average number of days available per ship from 130 to 143. The announcement comes at a time when more than 90% of the fleet, of 557 boats, is prohibited from going to sea and provides, in the words of the Minister of Agriculture, Luis Planas, peace of mind to the sector, in addition to guaranteeing. Since 2020, European Union (EU) regulation has progressively reduced the days of work in search of more sustainable fishing. However, administrations and the fishing sector warn that the number of days currently authorized makes the activity economically unsustainable. The resolution, communicated this Monday by Planas, will be applied as an emergency measure. For 2026, the EU Council of Fisheries Ministers will discuss, at its meeting on December 11 and 12, the final planning.
The extension communicated by the ministry amounts to 7,339 total additional days, which represents an average of 13 more days per ship. The distribution of these days will be adjusted to the particular situation of each vessel and will be communicated individually by the State Administration through an official notification. Planas explained that obtaining this increase “has been the result of intense technical work” that required detailed monitoring of the fleet’s activity and “maximum use of the compensation mechanisms authorized by the European Union.”
The minister has argued that in recent days, although the period in which the Mediterranean fleet can fish has not yet increased, the supply of fish has been guaranteed. Even so, he welcomed that the measure communicated today allows us to improve planning for the coming weeks.
