Dozens of fishermen from the Balearic Islands gathered this Monday in the port of Palma, on a day in which the artisanal fleet did not go out to sea to protest the new obligations imposed by Europe on the sector.

The Government has submitted objections to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food against the new European fisheries control regulation. This aligns it with the sector's rejection of the Electronic Logbook (DEA) requirements. The Executive believes these measures are not adapted to the reality of the Balearic Islands' coastal fleet, which operates daily, short fishing trips and sells fresh fish the same day. Therefore, it argues that the current system already guarantees the control and traceability of catches and considers the requirement to notify authorities four hours in advance of arrival in port disproportionate. The objections request exceptions for the Mediterranean coastal fleet and warn that the Mediterranean's high biodiversity hinders the accurate reporting of catches, in addition to increasing fuel consumption and creating potential risks to maritime safety. The Director General of Fisheries, Antoni Grau, has reiterated the Government's support for the fishing sector and called for regulations adapted to the economic and social reality of the Balearic Islands, as well as proportionate regulations for recreational fishing.

The European Union's fisheries ministers finalized an agreement in the early hours of the morning on fishing opportunities for 2026 in EU waters of the Atlantic and on fishing days in the Mediterranean, which will ultimately be set at 143 days. The agreement concludes two intense days of negotiations among the member states. Spanish Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food, Luis Planas, celebrated the outcome, calling it a "clear success," especially considering that the European Commission's initial proposal offered only 9.7 days of annual fishing for the trawler fleet. "We have secured 143 days for our Mediterranean vessels," he stated in a message posted on social media.

The Balearic Federation of Fishermen's Associations (FBCP) has described the European Commission's proposal to limit the number of fishing days for trawlers as "insulting, immoral, and indecent." Given that the Director-General of the European Commission's DG MADRE, Charlina Vitcheva, acknowledged the sector's efforts over the past six years in adjusting activity levels and the resulting impact on fish stocks, the proposal "seems like yet another blow to a sector already struggling to keep its balance." According to the FBCP, the proposal jeopardizes the balance between biodiversity conservation, the social and economic interests of fishing, and European food sovereignty. At the national level, the proposal calls for a 65% reduction in the number of days allowed by 2025, which was 27. This would reduce the average fishing time per vessel to 9.5 days. According to the president of the Balearic Islands Fishermen's Federation (FBCP), Domingo Bonnín, the archipelago's fishing sector faces a proposal that would almost certainly make fishing activity unviable. In this regard, the federation points out that the traditional fishing boats known as "toro" account for 70% of the catches in the Balearic Islands and, as the federation has warned, without these boats, neither the marketing chain nor the fishermen's associations can be maintained. They also emphasized that since the implementation of the Western Mediterranean Multiannual Fisheries Plan in 2019, the sector has complied with the European Commission's requirements, reducing working days by 50% and closing fishing areas, among other measures. "The Commission considers all of this insufficient," they lamented, while noting that fish and crustacean populations have been observed to be fished at a sustainable rate for years. However, the sector has demanded the ability to return to working an average of 180 days per year and the removal of the catch limit for red shrimp.

The Regional Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and the Environment will open a sanctioning procedure against a professional fishing vessel for fishing in the Levante de Mallorca Marine Reserve, which could result in a fine of up to €60,000 and the revocation of its license.

The Regional Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and the Natural Environment, through the Directorate General of Fisheries, will negotiate with the sector on the proposed expansion of the Freus Marine Reserve during its processing, with the goal of achieving "the broadest possible consensus." This was stated by the Regional Ministry in a press release on Wednesday, in which it emphasized that recreational fishing can be practiced normally in marine reserves, as has been the case in Freus for the past 25 years.

In the mid-19th century, Mallorcans stopped entrenching themselves inland and began to inhabit the coast as well. It was an ancestrally feared place for being a gateway to epidemics and pirate attacks. This new relationship was marked by a series of state laws aimed at promoting agricultural colonies. María de la Salud researcher Bartomeu Pastor Sureda explains: "It was a project undertaken throughout the state. In the Balearic Islands, they were only created in Mallorca. The most important were those along the coast (four), which are the ones that still survive, although for residential use. At that time, they were unproductive because they were too thin. They were used for growing mainly vineyards and almond trees, but also fig trees, carob trees, and cereals for making bread."