Markets wake up without Mediterranean fish and with some stalls "below minimums"

ACN/Barcelona - Markets have woken up without Mediterranean fish and with stalls that buy fish from the fish markets "below minimums". These are the effects of the fishermen's strike called this Monday and Tuesday against the new regulation that the ministers of the European Union must vote on and that limits the number of days of trawling fishing to a maximum of thirty per year. Most fish shops have opened and sold produce from the Cantabrian and Atlantic, but some have closed in "solidarity" with the fishermen. In statements to ACN, stall owners have insisted that it is "unviable" to have local fish with the reduction in fishing days and have warned that the European restrictions will cause prices to increase for consumers.

The European Commission's proposal aims to limit trawling activity to a maximum of 27 days a year. This represents an average reduction of 66% overall in the three countries affected - Spain, France and Italy - and 79% in Spain in particular. Until now, the average number of days allowed by the European Commission for trawling in the Mediterranean was 130.

Fishmongers have been able to continue offering fresh produce despite the fishermen's strike, but they expect a complicated situation in the coming days, which will increase from January. These businesses fear that if the proposal from the European institutions comes into force, they will not be able to offer local fish and that the fish markets will end up closing. Fishmongers consider the restriction promoted by Brussels to be "unfeasible", but they are not losing hope that it will not end up coming into force. In negotiations between the 27, Spain, France and Italy and a fourth country could exercise veto power with a blocking minority.