Fishers divided on EU Mediterranean deal: Satisfaction for some, 'blackmail' for others

The European Union reached a deal on trawling in the Mediterranean Sea on Wednesday after Spain pushed back the European Commission's initial stance.

Hours after the agreement was made, fishers in Catalonia were either satisfied or considered the text as "blackmail."

In the Costa Brava town of Palamós, north Catalonia, fishers welcomed the decision as the proposal to reduce fishing days to 27 made it "impossible" to work.

However, with the new exceptions that have been agreed on, workers of the Palamós' Fishers will continue to fish the same number of days they are currently allowed to go fishing.

The proposal applied in the EU follows the same guidelines Palamós has been practicing for "some years," Francesc Benaiges, vice-president of the group, said.

Benaiges went shrimp fishing on Wednesday morning after the two-day halt. He used a 50-millimeter fishing net, the standard set by Europe, which fishers in Palamós have used for years since 2013 and consolidated in 2018. Boats in Palamós also avoid trawling.

They will now try a wider fishing net, 55-millimeter, to let smaller shrimps free. "If the new model works, we will for sure use it," Benaiges said before rhetorically adding, "You are not destroying the seabed, and you fish shrimps. What else?"

Workers expect to continue fishing as normal between 130 and 160 days per year, as they currently do. Benaiges joined the protests seen earlier this week as it would have been "unviable" to fish only 27 days each year, as initially planned.

Alone supporting the measure

The fishers of Palamós are alone in their position regarding the new EU agreement.

The president of the Catalan Fishermen's Federation, Antoni Abad, believes that it is a "bad agreement" because these measures have to be implemented in just "one day".

"Although most of the 12 agreed measures are already in place, it is very difficult to have them all ready in such a short time," he said in a text.

Workers in Blanes, south of Palamós, believe that the agreement is only "crumbs" and that many fishers "will have to quit."

"We do not agree with the agreement signed in Brussels and we do not reject stepping up our protests," said Ferran Martínez, leader of the group.

La Ràpita fleet reject agreement

The Fishers' Guild of La Ràpita, located in Montsià, Catalonia's southernmost county, which represents the most significant trawl fishing fleet in the region, gave a "negative" assessment of the agreement.

Its secretary, Joan Balagué, said that the new measures "blackmail" them into applying new actions to increase their activity.

"We will once again face a reduction in working days and fishing capacity," he said, adding that they feel " deceived and disappointed" and calling the measure a "death sentence."

In recent years, La Ràpita fishers have reduced fishing hours, closed certain areas temporarily and others permanently to preserve resources, and have adhered to voluntary fishing bans for months. However, the two months of voluntary fishing bans penalize them under the agreement.

"We believe in voluntary fishing bans, unlike other places where they don't follow them. We have scientific studies to support our actions; we're doing things right, and there's no resource loss problem in our area," Balagué said.

La Ràpita's fishers do not understand the satisfaction of other fleets. "Maybe some other areas benefit from it, but here the agreement is not well received because it makes the trawling sector even less profitable and is an unfair measure for those who comply," he explained.

In La Ràpita, trawling represents about 60% of the total volume, with about 90 vessels, most of which are small and have only one crew member.