Government and Canary Islands fishing guilds agree to ease fishing controls

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The PSOE of the Canary Islands welcomes the dialogue that has enabled European regulations to be adapted to the reality of the sector in the islands.

The Canary Islands PSOE expressed satisfaction with the positive results of the joint work being carried out by the Spanish Government—through the involvement of several ministries—in taking into account the demands of the Canary fishing sector within the Regulatory Simplification Package for the Outermost Regions (RUP) and in agreeing on greater flexibility in the application of the Fishing Control Regulation.

In recent weeks, the Ministries of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and of Territorial Policy and Democratic Memory have been working on political actions that improve conditions for the Canary fishing sector.

Key requests submitted to the European Commission

The Ministry of Territorial Policy included several points in the communication that the Spanish Government sent to the European Commission on 12 January as part of the future Simplification Package for the RUP. In that document, the department headed by Ángel Víctor Torres asked to:

• Maintain the uniqueness of the POSEI program for the islands and guarantee sufficient funding.
• Modify the European regulation to allow de minimis aid for reforms and safety‑ and sustainability‑related upgrades on fishing vessels under 12 metres.
• Establish specific and more realistic rules that would enable an urgent renewal of the fishing fleet in the RUP.

Recent negotiations and agreed measures

Following the same line of simplification for an ultra‑peripheral territory, the Ministry of Territorial Policy, the Ministry of Agriculture and public representatives of the PSOE Canarias have held meetings with professional collectives to record their claims and agree on more flexible measures in the Fishing Control Regulation, which entered into force on 10 January.

“Because of this willingness in the negotiations—where the Secretary‑General of the PSOE Canarias and minister played an active role—very positive results have been achieved,” the party noted.

The most notable outcome is an agreement, made public by the department led by Luis Planas, that introduces several flexibilities:

• No infringement will be recorded for errors or omissions in the daily on‑board log when catches are below 50 kg.
• The obligation to report catches will be considered fulfilled when the information is provided once a day before the vessel enters port.
• Prior notification may be submitted at the moment the vessel sets course for the port, allowing a deadline shorter than the four hours stipulated in the regulation.

The Canary Islands socialists applaud the Government’s sensitivity in listening to the sector and the concrete actions that have produced a positive result.