Based on prior successful pilot projects, the Government of Catalonia adopted the Decree 118/2018, of 19 June, on the governance model for professional fishing in Catalonia. This legal text provides for the first time in Europe a legal framework for true fisheries co-management. The model is based on co-management committees (CoCs) integrated by representatives of the fisheries administration, the fishing sector, the scientific world and NGOs, all of them on equal footing when it comes to decision-making powers. CoCs are strongly decentralised, fitted to the geographical scale that matters to the specific fishery they manage and follow an adaptive management approach.
Since the adoption of the Decree, 5 fisheries co-management committees have been established on fisheries ranging from sand-eel to octopus, small pelagics, cuttlefish and blue crab. More fisheries are expected to be integrated in the co-managed network over the next months. CoCs are mandated to complete within 18 months since their establishment a formal management plan based on the EU Common Fisheries Policy, as well as an accompanying socioeconomic programme.
The unique Catalan co-management scheme is subject to considerable international interest, including an award in 2018 by the FAO-GFCM and the EC DGMARE.
Starting in 2019, an annual workshop will be convened every year to enhance the exchange of lessons learnt among the different co-management committees; it will be open to experts and other interested people.
A new Catalan Research Institute for the Governance of the Sea (ICATMAR) has been established in 2018 to provide scientific assessment to suport the new fisheries governance model, including a specific data collection programme funded through EU EMFF matched with own resources.