The General Court of the European Union dismissed the appeals brought by Spain and Spanish fishers against the ban on fishing with bottom gear in protected fishing areas in the Atlantic Ocean, in a judgment delivered on Wednesday 11 June (Joined Cases T-681/22 and T-781/22).
In Spain, the State and a number of bodies representing Galician and Asturian fishers are challenging the European Commission's designation of deep-water fishing areas in the north-east Atlantic that are home to vulnerable marine ecosystems (regulation 2022/1614) and where fishing with bottom gear is prohibited (regulation 734/2008).
In its rulings, the General Court dismissed the appeals lodged. According to the Court, since the designation of the disputed areas was based on the proven or probable presence of protected species and on the characteristics of the ecosystem concerned, the European Commission was not required to assess the fragility of the ecosystems with regard to each type of gear used, in particular passive bottom gear such as the demersal longline used by the applicant fishers. Nor did the EU institution have to assess the consequences of conservation measures on fishing activities or on economic and social life, it added.
The Court is also of the opinion that it has not been established that the Commission manifestly exceeded its margin of discretion in using a methodology proposed by the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) to determine the disputed areas. Nor has it been demonstrated that this methodology was not the most appropriate for delimiting marine protected areas.
In addition, the General Court emphasised the lawfulness of the regulation (2016/2336) on which the contested implementing measure relating to the designation of protected areas in the North-East Atlantic is based. In its view, the regulation does not breach the principle of proportionality by prohibiting fishing with any type of bottom gear in designated areas. It notes that this ban does not apply to fishing at a depth of less than 400 metres.
In addition, the Court found that the applicants could not prove that passive gear, such as demersal longlines, are not harmful to vulnerable marine ecosystems.
To see the press release of the General Court’s judgment: https://aeur.eu/f/h9p (Original version in French by Mathieu Bion)