Spanish Fishing Industry: Economic Challenges and Sustainability

Fishing, an economic activity with a long-standing tradition, has been losing weight in the overall economy, although it continues to hold great importance in some areas.

1. Spanish Fisheries Sector

The Spanish fishing sector is organized into eight regions. The most important for their fish landings is the Northwest, followed by other Atlantic regions. The species caught are primarily fish, with the rest being molluscs and crustaceans by value. Whitefish and sardines stand out by tonnage, followed by tuna and bonito for the canning industry. The main destination for fishing is fish for human consumption. Landings experienced significant growth until 1976, driven by increasing domestic demand, fishing freedom, and fleet expansion.

2. Crisis and Challenges in the Fishing Activity

The fishing activity is currently in a crisis situation, reflected in several indicators: the decline of the workforce employed in the sector, a decrease in its contribution to GDP, and a significant foreign trade deficit due to high domestic consumption, which necessitates large fish imports. Quota restrictions, often deemed inadequate for the Spanish fleet's significant fishing capacity, are causing problems. Additionally, there is significant environmental degradation of marine waters.

2.1. Fishing Areas and Restrictions

Fishing is conducted in fisheries, which are appropriate places for setting or casting nets. The problems presented are national fish depletion and fishing restrictions in both national and international waters. This is because the traditional continental shelf offers modest resources and is narrow, and there has been massive exploitation of fish stimulated by significant domestic demand.

• Community Fishing Areas: These areas are subject to a quota system. These quotas are set each year by the EU to ensure catch sustainability, meaning only a maximum quantity can be caught, which is shared among all licensed fishing vessels.
• International Fisheries: Restrictions on international fisheries began in 1974 when living marine resources were no longer considered free property. Outside the main fishing grounds, which are in the Atlantic and Western Indian Oceans, there is a high-seas fleet that can remain at sea for days, weeks, or even months.

2.2. Structural Issues in the Fishing Sector

• Workforce: The population actively engaged in fishing was 557,000 people in 2002, and this figure is characterized by decline and aging. This decrease is motivated by the crisis, due to industrial fishing leading to stock depletion, mechanization of work on large vessels, and reduced fishing licenses. The northwestern region has the most activity in this sector. Aging affects most people in the artisanal fishing fleet.
• Spanish Fleet: The Spanish fishing fleet also faces problems: its present size is excessive, and there is an excessive number of technologically obsolete vessels with small tonnage that cannot stray too far from the coast, contributing to the overexploitation of national fish stocks.