Spain - 41 FLAGs - 125.7 M€

Spain is home to the biggest fishing industry in Europe and has a long tradition of maritime activities such as fishing and aquaculture, but also fish processing, tourism and marine sports. In Spain, the implementation of CLLD is organised at regional level, while the national managing authority is ultimately responsible for the programme and plays a coordinating and reporting role. The main challenges facing Spain’s fisheries areas are high unemployment; aging populations in fisheries areas and in the sector; reconciling the presence of other, growing economic sectors (e.g. tourism) with fisheries; and pressure of economic activities on the coastal environment. These challenges are the focus of the 41 Spanish FLAGs’ strategies.

CLLD Programme

CLLD Context:

Given Spain´s political structure, the implementation of CLLD is organised at regional level, while the national managing authority is ultimately responsible for the programme and plays a coordinating and reporting role.

The country has some 200 fishing ports and boasts a diverse sector with 60 different vessel segments, ranging from small-scale coastal fishing to large-scale and long-distance fishing. It is ranked as the first producer in EU27 for fishing and aquaculture, and the seafood processing industry competes on the international market.

The overall employment of these activities represents more than 70 000 employees (in full-time equivalents), split into fishing (over 33 000 FTE), aquaculture (over 19 000 FTE) and processing (over 18 000 FTE). Given the links between these sectors and others, such as energy, transport, tourism, and research, the marine sector has a very strong socio-economic importance in Spanish society.

A two page summary of the Operational Programme including contact details of the Managing Authority is available at the following link.

Contact details of the managing authority can be found here.

More information about national EMFF programmes can be found here.

Axis 4 achievements (2007-2013):

During the EFF period, FLAG strategies focused on supporting sustainable and viable local economies in fisheries communities: creating employment and economic diversification; improving the environmental quality of the coast; and enhancing regional, interregional and transnational cooperation. As such, projects tended to focus on:

Adding value to local fisheries products through shorter marketing circuits, labelling and traceability systems and the development of new and more competitive products from local fish and shellfish.
Linking fishing to tourism, including the development of new activities and coastal routes to promote the local sector and its heritage.
Developing the business skills of fishermen and others in the community and improving the organization of local fisheries actors to ensure more effective resource management and access to markets.

CLLD objectives and challenges for 2014-2020:

Many of Spain’s coastal areas traditionally dependent on fishing have undergone a process of structural change to the economy as well as social and environmental changes. Low population density is a challenge in some areas, while others are under heavy pressure from urbanisation and the growing tourist economy. A lack of enterprise capacity at local level makes it hard for many communities to adapt as artisanal fisheries start to lose their traditional importance in terms of providing work. As such, the main challenges that community-led local development will have to address in Spain’s fisheries areas in the coming years are:

Tackling unemployment
Aging populations in fisheries areas and in the sector
Reconciling the presence of other, growing economic sectors (e.g. tourism) with fisheries
Pressure of economic activities on the coastal environment

To cope with these challenges, the objectives for CLLD in Spain 2014-2020 are:

Diversification inside and outside the fisheries sector.
Adding value to fisheries products (e.g. through direct sales and new products, labelling and quality brands, the use of less commercial species, and the use of discards for non-human use).
Improvement of the quality of the fisheries tourism offer (e.g. visibility of traditional crafts, gastronomy, quality accommodation, routes to protected areas).
Boosting innovation (e.g. to improve product quality, health, strengthen links between producers and consumers…).
Supporting entrepreneurship and new technologies.
Supporting cooperation (sharing knowledge, experience of experience and good practice)

Since the 2007-2013 period, the total budget for CLLD in Spain has been increased from €77.7M to €125.7M. The number of FLAGs has also increased from 31 to 41, present in all 10 coastal regions, of which six were already implementing Axis 4 under the EFF (Galicia, Andalusia, Asturias, Catalonia, Cantabria and the Canary Islands) and four set up FLAGs for the first time in the 2014-2020 period (Murcia, the Basque Country, Valencia and the Balearic Islands).

This implies an average budget of around €3M per FLAG, however budgets range from under €500 000 in some the Canary FLAGs to around €10M for certain Galician FLAGs.

CLLD Budget

Total budget: 
€125 685 603
EMFF budget for CLLD: 
€106 832 761
Co-funding: 
€18 852 842
Proportion of CLLD in EMFF budget: 
11%
Number of FLAGs: 
41
Average budget per FLAG: 
€3 065 503

National Network

The Spanish FLAG Network (Red Española de Grupos de Pesca), officially launched in the previous period (March 2010) was reinforced for the 2014-2020 period and has currently an annual budget of approximately €200 000 and two full-time persons coordinating support activities for the FLAGs. The network has been set up under the leadership of the Managing Authority and is in regular touch with the regional intermediary bodies and the FLAGs.

It collects and disseminates information on its website and via its newsletter, including good practice examples and interviews with those involved in implementing CLLD. It also organizes technical meetings to facilitate sharing of experiences among FLAGs and regional authorities and has recently enabled an online forum to post questions and answers that are relevant to all IBs and FLAGs in the country

In some regions (e.g. Galicia and Andalusia), FLAGs are also supported by regional support networks – to improve implementation, share experience and foster cooperation – including with Leader LAGs in regions such as Asturias.

Click here for the National Network contact details.

The FLAGs and their areas

The Spanish coastal areas are extremely diverse, ranging geographically from areas on the northwest Atlantic coast of Galicia, to areas in the Bay of Biscay and others on the eastern Mediterranean coasts of the country. Many have rich flora and fauna and cover different types of protected areas, including marine protected areas, while other areas are grappling with intense pressure from urbanization.

Calls for FLAGs were launched in the different regions between 2016 and 2017 and 41 were selected: 8 in Galicia, 7 in Asturias, 2 in Cantabria, 1 in the Basque Country, 2 in Catalonia, 4 in Valencia, 2 in the Balearic Islands, 1 in Murcia, 7 in Andalusia and 7 in the Canary Islands.

Cooperation

For the EMFF funding period, 26 cooperation projects were reported by the managing authority by December 2021. Many involved regional cooperation projects, for example on marine tourism between Galician FLAGs or setting up a network of seafaring women in Catalonia. Others spanned more than one region or involved FLAGs from other countries.

For information on how cooperation was programmed and organised in Spain, click here.

FLAGs

Code	Name	Region	Surface area (km²)	Population	Population density (per km²)	Employment in fisheries*
ES201	Vigo – A Guarda FLAG	Galicia	514	145558	358	4812
ES202	Pontevedra FLAG	Galicia	293	79152	548	3609
ES203	Arousa FLAG	Galicia	425	153708	361	11498
ES204	Costa Sostible FLAG	Galicia	594	61832	104	2460
ES205	Costa da Morte FLAG	Galicia	962	81442	84	1488
ES206	Southern Artabro Gulf FLAG		338	143749	426	1966
ES207	Northern Artabro Gulf FLAG		364	89978	247	700
ES208	Mariña-Ortegal FLAG	Galicia	1155	83838	73	2361
ES209	Oscos-Eo FLAG		208	7722	37	12
ES210	Navia-Porcía FLAG	Asturias	273	20038	73	180
ES211	Ese-Entrecabos FLAG	Galicia	454	18004	41	385
ES212	Bajo Nalón FLAG		44	6075	140	25
ES213	Cabo Peñas FLAG		148	21335	144	107
ES214	La Sidra FLAG		374	18389	49	90
ES215	Eastern Asturias FLAG	Asturias	370	22330	55	87
ES216	Western Cantabria FLAG	Asturias	84	15126	180	413
ES217	Eastern Cantabria FLAG		130	62763	483	2229
ES218	Basque FLAG		195	147491	755
ES219	Costa Brava FLAG	Catalonia	360	171936	479	906
ES220	Ebro FLAG	Catalonia	510	71185	140	1544
ES221	La Plana FLAG	Valencia	273	112440	410	1144
ES222	La Marina FLAG	Valencia	344	232513	677	1084
ES223	La Safor FLAG		102	122522	1202	1084
ES224	Santa Pola FLAG	Valencia	94	47246	504	481
ES225	Murcia FLAG	Murcia	1245	356851	287	538
ES226	Menorca FLAG	Balearic Islands	702	91170	130	150
ES227	Ibiza FLAG		654	154189	236	480
ES228	Almeria Coast FLAG		1489	285456	192
ES229	Western Almeria FLAG	Andalusia	190	129290	654	413
ES230	Granada Coast FLAG	Andalusia	448	117463	96	143
ES231	Malaga FLAG		465	384785	829	1277
ES232	Cadiz Estrecho FLAG	Andalusia	710	70000	100	2550
ES233	Noroeste de Cádiz FLAG	Andalusia	517	211029	408	830
ES234	Huelva FLAG	Andalusia	550	103385	188	3000
ES235	Lanzerote FLAG	Canary Islands	900	143209	169	194
ES236	Fuerteventura FLAG	Canary Islands	1660	74983	45	120
ES237	Gran Canaria FLAG		882	232000	263
ES238	Tenerife FLAG	Canary Islands	1680	818740	487	622
ES239	La Gomera FLAG		370	20976	57
ES240	La Palma FLAG		708	82346	116
ES241	El Hierro FLAG		269	10587	39

(*)according to the information received from the FLAG

Map

Publication date:

15/12/2021