Fisheries sector

Fishing, EU funds at -67% but reduction of closed days arrives

The organisations call for the attention given to agriculture in the Mercosur agreement to be extended to their sector as well

by Alessio Romeo

12 January 2026

Mercosur, von der Leyen "Giornata storica, segnale forte dall'Ue"

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

3' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

While agriculture reckons with the benefits of the reshuffling of funds in the post-2027 EU budget offered by the Commission in an attempt to appease protests against the closure of the agreement with the Mercosur countries, the fisheries sector is asking not to be 'forgotten'.

After the stop to the reduction of fishing days for 2026, the drastic cut of more than 60 per cent in European funding envisaged by the proposals on the future multiannual financial framework of the Union 2028-34 had led fishermen's representatives to demonstrate on 18 December in the squares of Brussels, alongside the farmers.

Now, in a letter sent a few days ago to the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, the organisations ask that the attention given these days to agriculture be extended also to the fishing and aquaculture sectors, "in a historical phase in which the sector is required to make extraordinary efforts to support the ecological transition, guarantee European food security and contribute to the protection of biological resources," Agci Pesca e Acquacoltura, Confcooperative Fedagripesca and Legacoop Agroalimentare write, "while respecting a balance that is fully sustainable in environmental, social and economic terms, ensuring the sector access to extraordinary financial instruments to deal with the same global crises and market disruptions that affect the entire agri-food chain.

The strengthening of the resources earmarked for the Common Agricultural Policy for the period 2028-2034, emphasises the president of Legacoop Agroalimentare, Cristian Maretti, "if confirmed, represents an important step change compared to the initial hypotheses and responds to the concerns expressed in recent months by the European agricultural and cooperative world. However, it remains essential to make up for it also on the fishing and aquaculture front, sectors for which the financial framework continues to present significant criticalities, with the risk of compromising the economic and social resilience of strategic supply chains and many territories'.

For the period 2028-2034, recalls Confcooperative Fedagripesca,funds for professional fishing will drop from about 6.1 billion to just over 2 billion, a cut of 67 per cent: "This is an incomprehensible choice for a sector that provides about 350 thousand direct jobs and 37 billion in annual turnover, which has already been hit in recent years by declining production, rising costs and climate impacts. Without resources dedicated to investment and innovation, there is a growing risk of losing competitiveness and offurther increasing dependence on imports, which in Italy already cover about three quarters of consumption. The confluence of measures in a single fund also risks diluting the specific instruments for fishing and aquaculture, jeopardising competitiveness, innovation and business resilience. We urgently ask the EU institutions to review this proposal, restoring dedicated and adequate resources, to ensure a sustainable and competitive future for the sector".

For Coldiretti Pesca, the cuts are "the result of an environmental extremism disconnected from reality whose only effect has been to increase dependence on foreign fish and to make one in three fishing vessels dismantle. To cut resources now is a slap in the face to the sacrifices of the fishing fleets for sustainability and fish stocks, which have been completely nullified. A mortal blow to an important supply chain of the made in Italy agri-food industry that counts in Italy about 12 thousand boats for a total turnover of just under 750 million euro". According to the Crea yearbook, imports exceeded 7.5 billion in value, against exports of just over one billion.

In the meantime, however, at the last EU Council meeting in December the sector cashed in on the stop to the infamous fishing ban for 2026 as well, avoiding, thanks to the work of the Italian delegation, supported by France and Spain, and the pragmatism of the (former) Danish presidency, a drastic downsizing of fishing activity in the western Mediterranean during the year. The European Commission's initial proposal, which envisaged a reduction of up to 64% in fishing days, has been profoundly revised: the cut has been reduced to 39% and has been accompanied by a package of compensatory measures that effectively neutralise the reduction in fishing effort and guarantee the vessels' trips out to sea. Particularly significant, then, was the recognition of the permanent cessation with the ban on scrapping put in place by Italy alongside the biological closure (temporary cessation) as a structural measure to reduce fishing effort. This is a significant political step that enhances the efforts already made by the sector and Italian companies in recent years.