The preferences of the Spanish fishermen and their contribution on reform of the European Common Fisheries Policy

The latest reform of the Common Fisheries Policy introduces market instruments to manage European fisheries. The success of any regulatory measure requires compliance with and acceptance of standards on the part of the regulatory bodies. This is the second proposal made by the European Commission which poses this possibility; the previous reform agreed by European Parliament in 2002 removed it due to the opposition from fishermen in some countries, among them were most of Spanish fishers. But perhaps the fishermen's preferences changed for these years. This study analyses Spanish fishermen's preferences of the possibility of introducing fishing rights, and an international comparison of fishermen's preferences is made. The results show that the industrial segments are more favourable to implement a system based on quotas, whereas the artisanal segments are more in favour of an individual effort system. The greatest similarities are obtained in Iceland and Australia, although the results achieved are based more on qualitative than quantitative analysis.