Lack of management plans leaves 90,000 km² without real protection after a decade of efforts
Press Release Date: June 12, 2026
Location: Valencia
Contact:
Emily Fairless | email: efairless@oceana.org | tel.: +32 478 038 490
Spain’s largest marine conservation project, LIFE IP INTEMARES, falls short of delivering the necessary measures to protect threatened species and habitats
Valencia — Oceana is calling on the Government to urgently adopt management plans for all areas included in the LIFE IP INTEMARES project. During the presentation of the project’s results today, it was confirmed that none of the ten planned management plans for Natura 2000 marine sites and the Mediterranean Cetacean Migration Corridor — covering more than 90,000 km² in total — have yet been approved. In several cases, these plans have been delayed since 2014, exceeding the legal six-year deadline and leaving vulnerable species and habitats without effective protection.
Oceana considers this situation particularly serious given that, at the United Nations Ocean Conference held in Nice last year, the government announced its commitment to strengthen the effective management of marine protected areas and to approve 40 new management plans by this coming July. Ten of these (four currently under public consultation) correspond to the largest areas and are being developed under INTEMARES, one of the EU’s largest LIFE IP projects, with a total of €50 million in public funding to protect species and seabeds of high ecological value.
Map of the nine Natura 2000 areas and the Mediterranean Cetacean Migration Corridor
“It is unacceptable that, after nearly a decade of work and millions of euros in public investment, 91,485 km² of marine protected areas — an area larger than Andalusia — remain without approved management plans. Natura 2000 sites cannot achieve their conservation and restoration objectives, nor increase resilience to climate change, without proper management. This lack of measures also puts at risk sectors that depend directly on the sea, especially fisheries,” said Michael Sealey, senior policy advisor at Oceana.
The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (MAPA) has only provided information on fishing activity in some of these areas, crucial data required under INTEMARES for designing appropriate fisheries management. The ministry must also approve restrictions on fishing gear that damages protected habitats within these areas.
Without management, there is no protection
The INTEMARES project, which was due to conclude in 2024, was created with the aim of achieving a Natura 2000 marine network that is effectively managed and based on scientific knowledge. Management plans are an essential component to provide legal certainty and predictability for all sectors operating in the marine environment, including fisheries. Without proper fisheries management — and while bottom trawling continues to be allowed in marine protected areas — it will be impossible for Spain to meet its target of protecting 30% of its waters by 2030, with 10% under strict protection.
“Spain has made a notable effort to expand its network of marine protected areas, but until they are effectively managed, they are merely paper parks — lines on a map without real protection. The challenge now is to ensure that designation is accompanied by fully operational management that benefits the ocean, marine life, and the fishing sector,” added Sealey.
Legal action against destructive fishing in protected areas
Oceana and ClientEarth have ongoing legal proceedings against the Government for issuing fishing licences in marine protected areas that lack management measures or where the impact of bottom trawling on marine species and habitats has not been assessed. This violates both Spanish and EU legislation (the Sustainable Fisheries Law, and the Habitats Directive). The cases are ongoing.
The situation is similar in other European countries. Various NGOs have taken the governments of France, Germany, The Netherlands and Sweden to court for allowing bottom trawling in their marine protected areas. Last year, Oceana and other NGOs filed an EU complaint highlighting that this is a widespread problem across the EU and violates the Habitats Directive and national laws. While most of these countries have taken steps to address the issue, Spain has not.
Learn more:
Photos of species and habitats in Natura 2000 marine protected areas in Spain, and of the impacts of bottom trawling on habitats that should be protected
