Spanish Fishing Industry: Challenges and Regions

Posted on Jan 10, 2025 in Geography

The Spaces of Fishing

Fishing activity has also been losing weight in the overall economy. However, it is still important in some regions, such as Galicia, and in the Spanish diet, which includes very high fish consumption.

The Fishing Area

The Spanish fishing space, or National Cauldron, extends from the coast up to 200 nautical miles, which delimit the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Fisheries are organized into eight regions: Northwest, Cantabrian, North Atlantic, Levantine, South Mediterranean, South Atlantic, Balearic, and Canary Islands. This space is also called territorial waters.

The Fishing Activity

  1. The main target is human consumption fisheries. The fresh market dominates, but other forms have grown: canned, salted, and reduction (removal of oil or meal from fish waste or fish in poor condition).
  2. The most important fishing regions are, first, Galicia, followed by other Atlantic regions: the coast and the South Atlantic.
  3. Over 90% of the fish species caught are fish; the rest are mollusks and crustaceans. Highlights include hake, anchovy, tuna, bonito, and sardines, in that order.
  4. The Spanish fishing fleet is composed of an artisanal fleet, made up of many small boats (what is traditionally called inshore fishing) fishing in international waters (beyond the 200-mile jurisdiction of each country) and outside, on licensing and payment, in the remaining days, weeks, or even months.
  5. Spain’s membership in the European Union has led to the adoption of the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP), fixing the price of products and the adoption of EU guidelines on fisheries, including the very important contributions (catch limit for each country) and moratorium (temporary ban on catching certain endangered species).

The Crisis of Fisheries

  1. Indicators of the crisis:
    • The decline in population in the fishery is 0.25%.
    • The decrease in its contribution to GDP is less than 1%.
    • Foreign trade in fishing is very deficient due to the need to import large quantities of fish for consumption.
  2. The problems of fisheries and EU support under the European Fisheries Fund (EFF):
    • The problem of fishing grounds:
      • The national fishery offers modest resources due to overexploitation (overfishing).
      • The EU Community fishery is subject to a quota system, fixed annually, to secure the sustainability of the catches, as well as a moratorium or ban on fishing for certain species, particularly threatened. Only a set amount can be fished, which is divided among the ships authorized by licenses.
      • International fishing grounds: International waters (beyond the 200-mile limit) were created by the UN in 1982. Added to this is the security problem in conflict areas (remember the recent cases of piracy in the Indian Ocean).
    • Demographic problems: The population engaged in fisheries is scarce.
    • Economic problems:
      • The Spanish fishing fleet is too large in relation to the fishing opportunities and has a high average age (30 years in 2010, slightly lower than that in agricultural activities). Therefore, after entry into the European Community, a conversion of the subsector began, including two types of measures: reducing the size of the fleet by early retirement, scrapping of ships, etc., and the renovation and modernization of the fleet.
      • It is necessary to improve the processing and marketing of fishery products, as their role usually ends with the sale of products in the market. They are usually auctioned and purchased by wholesalers who distribute to retailers or processing plants. This will encourage fishing cooperatives.
    • Environmental problems:
      • Overuse or overfishing is due to excessive fishing and the use of indiscriminate fishing gear, such as trawling and longlining. To avoid this, fishing grounds are stocked, fishing size limits are prohibited, fishing quotas are set, and biological closures are implemented.

Aquaculture

  1. Marine aquaculture: The Cantabrian and Galician coasts are oriented towards mussel farming in Galicia. To a lesser extent, oysters, clams, cockles, and octopus are cultivated.
  2. Inland aquaculture, in freshwater, focuses on trout produced in Galicia, Catalonia, and the two sub-plateaus.

Aquaculture production suffers from some problems, such as high costs.