Overfishing

Fresh fish is all part of the Mediterranean diet but it appears that Spanish fishermen have been working a bit too hard and now there is a big problem with overfishing. As a direct result Spain has started to import fish from other countries. If you look around Majorca, most large coastal towns have their own fishing fleets and then you have the big trawlers from the mainland ports which are all active in local waters. The local authorities, to their credit, have been trying to tackle the problem of overfishing and have pushed forward with new conservation plans. But it is not enough, or so it would appear.

Spain has one of the largest fishing fleets in the world and its vessels operate across the globe but it is its fishing in home waters which appears to be causing the most concern. The Spanish government, in conjunction with the local authorities, should introduce a tough quota system so that overfishing can´t take place. I know this state of affairs will hit the local fishing fleet hard but it is needed otherwise overfishing could kill off Spain´s precious stocks. It would be a nightmare if restaurants had to remove some fish from their menus simply because of a shortage of fish. A few years ago I visited the main fish market in Palma and I was struck by the shortage of fish. There wasn´t much on sale at all. Now I know why. We have been simply eating into the fish stock too heavily.