Spain's General Secretariat for Fisheries convened a meeting on January 19, 2026, with the National Federation of Fishermen's Guilds and the Spanish Fisheries Confederation (Cepesca) to address implementation challenges regarding Regulation (EU) 2023/2842. The regulation, which came into force on January 10, concerns fisheries control.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and the fishing sector agreed on certain flexibilities to facilitate the application of European Union rules.
Regarding the recording of catches by species from "kilo zero" when amounts are less than 50 kilograms, the General Secretariat for Fisheries stated it will adopt a resolution to establish that, “errors or omissions in the estimation of quantities in the logbook for species with catches of less than 50 kilos will not constitute an infringement,” provided that the landing declaration includes the correct quantities.
The ministry stated it will give specific instructions to the fisheries inspection and control services to implement these provisions.
Spain stated it will request that the European Commission submit a proposal to amend the control regulation so that errors in the recording of quantities of less than 50 kilograms per species do not constitute an infringement.
While this amendment is processed, the ministry added that Spain will request the commission to amend Annex IV of Regulation 2023/2842 through a delegated act to ensure such errors are not considered a serious infringement.
Spain stated it will present these issues as "miscellaneous items" at the Council of Ministers of Agriculture and Fisheries of the European Union on January 26 in Brussels.
The resolution will also clarify the recording of catches per fishing operation. The General Secretariat for Fisheries noted that the obligation to provide this information, “will be considered fulfilled when it is provided at least once a day, before entering port or at the landing place.”
For prior notification, the General Secretariat for Fisheries stipulated that notification will be made, “when the vessel sets course for port.” This allows the deadline to be shorter than the standard four hours established in the regulations, except in cases where specific deadlines already apply.
The fishing sector confirmed its commitment to these measures, and the organisations agreed to hold a follow-up meeting to evaluate the execution of the changes.
