Spain's Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has activated mechanisms to optimise the use of fishing days for Mediterranean bottom trawlers and fishing quotas for various fleets in the Atlantic for 2025.
The optimisation mechanism for Mediterranean bottom trawlers aims to prevent vessels that exhaust their allotted fishing days early from having to cease activity, while also preventing the underutilisation of Spain's allocated fishing effort.
The resolution incorporates days that some vessels will not use by the end of the year and redistributes them among 520 of the 557 vessels in the fleet, ensuring their continued operation.
The system will be updated every two weeks via an app for continuous monitoring and flexible allocation.
Separately, the ministry also activated the Atlantic fishing quota optimisation mechanism for 2025. This system applies to various fleet segments, including bottom trawlers, purse seiners, and longliners, operating in the Cantabrian, Northwest, Gulf of Cádiz, and Portuguese waters, as well as the Gran Sol fleet.
This mechanism allows access to optimised quotas for up to ten species of interest, such as southern anglerfish, hake, and Norway lobster.
