Luis Planas advocates for a Common Fisheries Policy that promotes generational renewal and the modernisation of the sector

The Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, has argued that the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) needs to be adapted to facilitate generational renewal in the sector through a simpler regulatory framework, better working conditions and sufficient financial support to renew and modernise the fleet.

During the informal Council of EU Ministers for Fisheries, held in Cork (Ireland), Planas pointed out that employment in the European fishing industry has fallen by 15% and that the proportion of workers under the age of 40 has dropped from 31% to 26%, according to data from the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF). According to Planas, these figures show that "urgent action is needed".

To this end, the minister called for a review of the current regulatory framework and for the regulations to be simplified to better align them with the realities of the sector. "We need simpler, more flexible regulations that are tailored to the reality of our fisheries", he said. In particular, he highlighted the need to review the concept of fishing capacity - based on gross tonnage and engine power - as it is based on a management model that has now been superseded by other instruments such as total allowable catches (TACs), fishing quotas, fishing effort limits and closed seasons.

Furthermore, Planas advocated for moving towards multi-annual decisions for setting fishing opportunities, noting that they "provide stability, facilitate business planning and foster generational renewal".

The minister emphasised that generational renewal is the main challenge facing the European fishing industry "to safeguard the sector's future, strengthen food security, increase the European Union's strategic autonomy and secure the future of coastal communities". In this regard, he highlighted the measures Spain is promoting to modernise maritime and fisheries qualifications, strengthen training and support the recruitment of young people through the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF).

Planas also called for a financial instrument with sufficient funding to enable the acquisition of a new generation of 21st-century vessels. "The average age of European fishing vessels, between 35 and 40 years, demonstrates the need for urgent renewal to ensure safety, make the sector more attractive to young people and women, achieve decarbonisation and improve catch selectivity".

According to the minister, "significant progress has been made in sustainability over the last ten years, and these achievements must be maintained, although the main objective now must be to boost the sector's profitability. There can be no sustainability without profitability, so the two must go forward hand in hand".

Non official translation