The European Commission has proposed extending the annual winter fishing closure in the Bay of Biscay into 2027 to reduce incidental catches of common dolphins and other small cetaceans.
Under the proposed regulation, vessels longer than eight metres would be required to observe a 30-day closure between January 15 and February 27, 2027.
The measure follows joint requests from Belgium, France, the Netherlands, Portugal and Spain.
Fishing operators would be able to notify their national authorities of their preferred closure period within the specified window. Vessels that do not register a preferred period would be subject to a default closure from January 22 to February 20.
The commission estimated that around 300 EU vessels would be affected, including pelagic and demersal trawlers, seiners and netters. Affected vessels would have to remain in port during their designated closure periods.
Operators would be eligible for compensation through the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund, as well as national state aid schemes established by individual Member States.
The proposed extension follows findings from French marine observatory PELAGIS showing that dolphin mortality from accidental catches in 2025 was lower than the annual levels recorded between 2017 and 2023.
The delegated act will be submitted to the European Parliament and Council of the European Union for scrutiny before it can enter into force.