Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1026 of 8 May 2026 extending the derogation from Council Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 as regards the minimum distance from the coast and the minimum sea depth for boat seines fishing for transparent and Ferrer’s gobies (Aphia minuta and Pseudaphya ferreri) and Lowbody picarel (Spicara smaris) in certain territorial waters of Spain (Balearic Islands)

THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,

Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union,

Having regard to Council Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 of 21 December 2006 concerning management measures for the sustainable exploitation of fishery resources in the Mediterranean Sea, amending Regulation (EEC) No 2847/93 and repealing Regulation (EC) No 1626/94⁽¹⁾, and in particular Article 13(5) thereof,

Whereas:

(1) Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 prohibits the use of towed gears within 3 nautical miles of the coast or within the 50 m isobath where that depth is reached at a shorter distance from the coast.

(2) At the request of a Member State, the Commission is to allow a derogation from the first subparagraph of Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006, provided that the conditions set out in Article 13(5) and (9) of that Regulation are fulfilled.

(3) The Commission allowed such a derogation for the use of boat seines fishing transparent goby and Ferrer’s gobies (Aphia minuta and Pseudaphya ferreri) and Lowbody picarel (Spicara smaris) within the Spanish territorial waters of the Balearic Islands for the first time until 6 December 2016 by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1233/2013⁽²⁾. Several extensions of that derogation were granted, last by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2024/755⁽³⁾ and that extension is to expire on 30 April 2026.

(4) The Autonomous Community of Balearic Islands amended its management plan⁽⁴⁾ on 15 December 2023⁽⁵⁾ and regularly submitted monitoring reports on its implementation. Spain requested the extension of the derogation in October 2025.

(5) During its 80th plenary session held in November 2025, the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) assessed the request for extending the derogation, the supporting data and the monitoring reports⁽⁶⁾. STECF concluded that for the traditional tirada fishery in the Balearic Islands the conditions for the coastal distance derogation are fulfilled. Following STECF’s recommendations, Spain has committed⁽⁷⁾ to undertake dedicated studies in order to evaluate the spatial overlap between Posidonia oceanica and fishing grounds and provide robust evidence for the limited impact on Posidonia seagrass beds.

(6) The derogation requested by Spain complies with the conditions laid down in Article 13(5) and (9) of Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006.

(7) In particular, there are specific geographical constraints given the limited size of the continental shelf and the limited extend of the trawlable fishing grounds, as the target species is exclusively limited to certain zones in the coastal areas at depths of less than 50 meters.

(8) Moreover, the management plan guarantees no future increase in the fishing effort. Fishing authorisations will only be issued to a maximum of 55 vessels, each limited to 12 m in size and 198,5 kW in power that are already authorised to fish and listed in the management plan.

(9) The fishery has no significant impact on the marine environment, since boat seines are hauled in the water column and do not touch the seabed. Due to the use of echo sounders, the fishery is highly selective with few bycatches. Besides, unwanted catches are immediately released alive with very high survivability.

(10) Boat seines do not target cephalopods.

(11) The fishery cannot be undertaken with another gear, as boat seines are the only regulated gear allowed to capture these three target species with a schooling behaviour in shallow coastal waters.

(12) The request concerns fishing activities already authorised by Spain, for vessels that are registered in the Spanish National Operational Fishing Fleet Census and have a track record in the fishery of more than five years.

(13) The fishery concerned fulfils the requirements of Article 4 of Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006, since the management plan prohibits fishing above Posidonia oceanica, maërl and coralligenous habitats.

(14) The management plan⁽⁸⁾ includes measures for the monitoring of the fishery.

(15) Spain has previously authorised a derogation from the minimum mesh size laid down in Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 on the basis of the fulfilment of the requirements of Article 9(7) of that Regulation given the highly selective nature of the fisheries concerned, its negligible effect on the marine environment and the fact that the prohibition of subparagraph 1 of Article 4(1) of that Regulation applies.

(16) As regards the conditions laid down in Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 and although that Article was deleted by Regulation (EU) 2019/1241 of the European Parliament and of the Council⁽⁹⁾, point 4 of Part B of Annex IX to latter Regulation allows, on the basis of conditions referred to in its Article 15(5), to continue to apply derogations from minimum mesh sizes which were issued within the framework of Article 9 of Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 and which were in force on 14 August 2019.

(17) The derogation extension requested by Spain complies with the conditions laid down in Article 15(5) of Regulation (EU) 2019/1241 and point 4 of Part B of Annex IX to that Regulation. This derogation does not lead to a deterioration of selectivity standards, in particular in terms of an increase in the catches of juveniles. It aims at achieving the objectives and targets set out in Articles 3 and 4 of Regulation (EU) 2019/1241.

(18) The fishery concerned is regulated in the management plan adopted by Spain to ensure that catches of species mentioned in Annex IX to Regulation (EU) 2019/1241 are minimal.

(19) The fishing activities concerned fulfil the recording requirements laid down in Article 14 of Council Regulation (EC) No 1224/2009⁽¹⁰⁾.

(20) The fishery concerned takes place at a very short distance from the coast and therefore does not interfere with the fishing activities of other vessels.

(21) The requested derogation should therefore be granted.

(22) A limitation in the duration of the derogation will allow ensuring prompt corrective management measures in case the monitoring of the management plan shows a poor conservation status of the exploited stock, while providing scope to enhance the scientific basis for an improved management plan. The end of the derogation should be fixed at the end of the fishing season. Accordingly, the derogation should apply until 30 April 2029.

(23) Since the derogation granted by Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2020/1243⁽¹¹⁾ expired on 30 April 2026, in order to ensure legal continuity, this Regulation should apply from 1 May 2026.

(24) For reasons of legal certainty, this Regulation should enter into force as a matter of urgency.

(25) This Regulation is without prejudice to the Commission’s position regarding compliance of the activity covered by this derogation with other Union legislation, in particular Council Directive 92/43/EEC⁽¹²⁾.

(26) The measures provided for in this Regulation are in accordance with the opinion of the Committee for Fisheries and Aquaculture,

HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION: