Spain hands out 142 million in subsidies to destroy the seabed
Bottom trawling in Spain receives 142 million in public subsidies. Greenpeace denounces it in Vigo. The fix? Consumer action or privatisation.
English · Original discussion in Spanish · Published
Bottom trawling: 142 million euros to strip the sea bare
How can public money spend almost 10 million euros a year subsidising a fishing technique that flattens everything in its path? According to Greenpeace data, deep-sea bottom trawling has received 142 million euros over 15 years, an average of 9.5 million a year. This is not just an environmentalist complaint: satellites have already revealed the serious ecological damage.
The real cost of the trawl net
Deep-sea bottom trawling drags nets across the seabed, destroying ecosystems that took years to form. In Vigo, Greenpeace activists painted four trawlers with the message 'Stop subsidies' to denounce the fact that taxpayers' money is funding this destructive practice. Galicia and the Basque Country are the main landing ports for deep-sea species.
Meanwhile, Atlantic cod is dying out: 80% of the cod caught is consumed by the British. The consumer's answer could be simple: stop buying at-risk fish. But some prefer not to rely on fish farms, citing health concerns over feed and medication.
Privatise the seas?
A school of thought, represented by the Instituto Juan de Mariana (a Spanish free-market think tank), proposes a radical solution: denationalise the sea and establish transferable individual fishing quotas. Its argument is that what belongs to everyone ends up belonging to no one, and that private ownership would force fishermen to manage the resource sustainably. Critics point out that this would turn fish into a luxury item and does not solve the problem of overfishing in international waters, where there is no effective regulation.
The documentary 'The End of the Line' already warned in 2009 that we are heading towards a global fisheries collapse.
No solution in sight
With 142 million euros subsidising destruction, the machinery keeps running. While some pin their hopes on consumer awareness and others on turning the sea into private property, the hard fact is that fishing grounds are being emptied at a forced pace. Does anyone really believe we can keep pretending nothing is happening?
Related discussions in the forum
How can public money spend almost 10 million euros a year subsidising a fishing technique that flattens everything in its path? According to Greenpeace data, deep-sea bottom trawling has received 142 million euros over 15 years, an average of 9.5 million a year. This is not just an environmentalist complaint: satellites have already revealed the serious ecological damage.
The real cost of the trawl net
Deep-sea bottom trawling drags nets across the seabed, destroying ecosystems that took years to form. In Vigo, Greenpeace activists painted four trawlers with the message 'Stop subsidies' to denounce the fact that taxpayers' money is funding this destructive practice. Galicia and the Basque Country are the main landing ports for deep-sea species.
Meanwhile, Atlantic cod is dying out: 80% of the cod caught is consumed by the British. The consumer's answer could be simple: stop buying at-risk fish. But some prefer not to rely on fish farms, citing health concerns over feed and medication.
Privatise the seas?
A school of thought, represented by the Instituto Juan de Mariana (a Spanish free-market think tank), proposes a radical solution: denationalise the sea and establish transferable individual fishing quotas. Its argument is that what belongs to everyone ends up belonging to no one, and that private ownership would force fishermen to manage the resource sustainably. Critics point out that this would turn fish into a luxury item and does not solve the problem of overfishing in international waters, where there is no effective regulation.
The documentary 'The End of the Line' already warned in 2009 that we are heading towards a global fisheries collapse.
No solution in sight
With 142 million euros subsidising destruction, the machinery keeps running. While some pin their hopes on consumer awareness and others on turning the sea into private property, the hard fact is that fishing grounds are being emptied at a forced pace. Does anyone really believe we can keep pretending nothing is happening?
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Summary of a discussion on Burbuja.info - Foro de economía, actualidad y política., translated from Spanish and reviewed before publication. Read the full discussion (19 replies).
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