A coalition of conservation groups called on Spain’s government to ensure marine protected areas (MPAs) are being safeguarded, requesting additional funding, better fisheries management, and the establishment of pending fisheries-interest marine reserves.
The groups told the Spanish Secretariat‑General for Fisheries of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food (MAPA) that management plans for MPAs have been regularly delayed, with some already exceeding legal deadlines. According to a press release, there are 10 management plans still pending approval for marine areas within Natura 2000, a network of protected areas across the European Union. The groups further claim that MAPA needs to implement protective management measures for these areas to meet the government’s environmental commitments.
“MPAs are an essential tool both for restoring marine ecosystems and for safeguarding the future of the fishing sector, especially in the context of uncertainty caused by the impacts of the climate crisis. For them to work, effective management plans are needed that include fisheries measures, which must be approved by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food,” the groups said in a joint statement.
Organizations that joined the call included Angel Shark Project, ClientEarth, Ecologistas en Acción, Fundación Marilles, Greenpeace, Oceana, World Wildlife Fund, and several scientists from universities and research institutes.
Last year, Spain approved five new marmite protected areas, adding 17,000 square kilometers of protected waters. That brought the amount of Spanish waters with protected designations to just over 22 percent – still short of its commitment to protect 30 percent of its waters by 2030.
However, Oceana and other conservation groups have criticized Spain for not doing more to manage and safeguard MPAs. For example, the government’s decisions to cut funding for marine reserve surveillance last year was denounced by a group of 221 scientists, and conservation groups renewed their call for better enforcement in MPAs in their latest declaration.
“The use of new technologies, such as satellite monitoring and intelligent cameras to prevent illegal fishing, can help improve and complement surveillance efforts, but they must not replace the presence of enforcement officers at sea, which has been key to ensuring the effective protection of our waters and defending responsible fishing,” they added.
Oceana and ClientEarth have also challenged Spain’s practice of allowing bottom trawling in marine protected areas. In 2024, the NGOs sued the government, claiming that the commercial bottom trawling being enabled in MPAs by the Spanish government was a violation of European Union laws.
“Spain is legally obliged to safeguard its marine protected areas, which is incompatible with allowing destructive fishing gear within their boundaries,” Oceana Senior Policy Advisor Michael Sealey said in a statement.
The two groups presented their evidence on bottom trawling to Spain’s National High Court in February.
“This case highlights a serious anomaly: Marine areas are declared protected while one of the most damaging forms of fishing is still permitted within them. Today’s appearance before the National High Court underscores the need for Spain to justify – using scientific criteria and proper impact assessments – the continued granting of bottom‑trawling licenses in marine protected areas, as well as their compatibility with Spain’s and the E.U.’s marine protection obligations,” said Francesco Maletto, a marine conservation lawyer at ClientEarth, in a release.
There has been increased pressure on E.U. governments to address bottom trawling within MPAs, with only a handful proactively banning the practice.
On 11 May, the District Court of The Hague in the Netherlands ruled that bottom trawlers can no longer operate in the Dutch Dogger Bank protected area without a permit and environmental assessment. According to a release put out by ClientEarth and other conservation NGOs, “this is the first known ruling in Europe where a court has confirmed that governments have a responsibility to properly regulate the impact of bottom trawling on marine protected areas.”
“This is a landmark legal ruling for ocean protection, which is set to make waves across Europe. The Dutch court has unequivocally confirmed that bottom trawling in protected areas cannot be ignored. European decision-makers are on notice that they have a legal responsibility to act now in order to address this serious threat to our ocean’s wellbeing,” ClientEarth Senior Lawyer John Condon said in a statement.
