Catalan fishers are ready to rebel if EU fishing quota "is not coherent"

The Catalan fishers' association is ready to rebel if the European Union's fishing quota "is not coherent."

Fishers are awaiting the outcome of a two-day meeting in Brussels, which began on Thursday. Antoni Abad, president of the Federation of the Catalan Fishers' Guild, said they will not accept anything less than 130 working days, the number of fishing days last year.

"We must do something. I have never seen something similar, but we could probably go fishing if it is not a coherent proposal," he said.

Abad believes that going on strike means losing one fishing day and said that if no proposal guarantees the viability of fishing companies, "it will be time to start sailing and going fishing, and then someone can come and tell us not to do it," he said.

The sector, however, is "hopeful" and says that there is the possibility of blocking the proposal if Spain has the support of Italy and France. This could happen if three countries reject the proposal, which will then be revamped.

"We have families and rents to pay, and what we need to do is to work," Abad added before warning that they will not "be scared" whenever they must make a final decision to protest against the fishing quotas.

"I do not ask for a proposal that we like, only for it to be coherent," he added.

The starting point is 9.5 days, which Abad considers "crazy," and this is where negotiations will begin. He is hopeful, as Spain's agriculture and fisheries minister, Lluís Planas, will show scientifically backed data that the fishing ground is recovering.

Fishers are also urging European Union authorities to get rid of the "double ban on prawn fishing," as it is limited by the number of days and also by the number of kilos.

2026 fishing quota

Agriculture and fisheries ministers from the European Union Member States are meeting in Brussels on Thursday and Friday to discuss the 2026 fishing quotas.

Negotiations are "very complicated" as the European Commission is asking for an extra effort from fishers if they want to fish the same number of days as in 2024.

The current proposal would see a 65% reduction of fishing days for fishers in Catalonia in 2026, compared to 2025. Going from 27 to 9.5 days on average each year. However, the EU Commission would accept fishing the same number of days as in 2024 (around 140) if they comply with some environmental measures.