CEPESCA supports Spain’s legal challenge of EU VME closures, calling for science-based regulation and fair treatment
Spain’s fishing industry has welcomed the government’s decision to appeal the EU General Court’s ruling that upheld the ban on bottom-contact fishing gear in 87 zones of the Northeast Atlantic.
The decision to take the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) was announced by Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Minister Luis Planas, and is strongly backed by the Spanish Confederation of Fisheries (Cepesca).
The appeal comes after the EU General Court dismissed legal challenges brought by Spain and the Puerto de Burela Producers’ Organisation (OPP), supported by the Galician regional government, against Implementing Regulation 2022/1614. That regulation closed nearly 16,500 km² of sea area to bottom gears, a move that has caused significant economic hardship for Spain’s longline and demersal fleets.
Cepesca said the appeal marks “a firm step in defence of the rationality and proportionality that must guide environmental measures affecting the socioeconomic sustainability of our fleets”.
According to Cepesca, the court ruling issued on 11 June failed to differentiate between fishing gear types, applying a single modelling methodology without regard to their specific environmental impact. The organisation notes that only 32% of the closed areas were actually identified as potential vulnerable marine ecosystems (VMEs), while the remaining 68% were closed solely based on assumptions associated with bottom trawling, applied indiscriminately to all gear types.
Javier Garat, Secretary General of Cepesca, said, “This decision by the Spanish government restores a hope that should never have been lost. We are not opposed to protecting marine ecosystems, but we insist that decisions must be based on robust scientific data, specific evaluations by gear type, and proper assessments of the economic and social impact.”
Longliners in particular are being hit hard, especially those operating from ports like Burela, Celeiro, Vigo, Cedeira, Ribeira, Ondárroa and across Asturias. Cepesca reports that Burela’s longline hake fishery has seen average catch volume losses of 32% per vessel, with no socio-economic impact study taken into account by the court.
Garat praised the “brave” efforts of the Puerto de Burela OPP, describing their defence of low-impact gear and sustainable practices as “exemplary”. The continuation of the legal process now opens the door for the Galician government and OPP to keep defending their case at the highest level.
Cepesca also stressed that key EU advisory bodies — including the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) and the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) — had previously warned the European Commission about the lack of rigour in the modelling approach used. These warnings, it said, were ignored in the original regulation and overlooked by the court.
Finally, Cepesca reiterated its commitment to work with EU institutions to find fair, effective and science-based conservation measures. “Effective environmental protection cannot come at the cost of abandoning those who have sustainably managed and depended on these seas for generations,” the group said.