Public consultation for the new Valencian inland fishing decree

The Third Vice-Presidency and Department of Environment, Infrastructure, Territory and Recovery has opened a prior public consultation on the draft decree of the Consell that will establish the guidelines for the management and utilization of fish resources in inland waters of the Valencian Community and will regulate inland fishing licenses. The announcement is published in the Official Gazette of the Generalitat Valenciana (DOGV) number 10440, dated August 31, 2026, with official reference DOGV-C-2026-27663.

The process, which will be conducted through the Generalitat’s participation portal (gvaparticipa.gva.es), will remain open for fifteen calendar days starting from the day following the publication of the announcement. Citizens, organizations, and associations who deem it appropriate may participate, within the framework provided for in Article 133 of Law 39/2015 and Articles 14 and 15 of Law 4/2023 on citizen participation.

An obsolete regulatory framework

The initiative responds to the insufficiency of current regulations, which are limited to partial aspects such as valid fishing periods and specific rules on the European eel, without a general management framework. In the absence of a regional inland fishing law, pre-constitutional state regulations continue to apply, such as the Law of February 20, 1942, and its 1943 regulation, whose contents incorporate obsolete figures and concepts.

The new regulation must also adapt to recent changes in European and state legislation. Among the cited precedents are:

• Regulation (EC) No 1100/2007, on measures for the recovery of the European eel population.
• Recommendations CGPM/46/2023/16 and GFCM/47/2024/1 of the General Fisheries Commission for the Mediterranean.
• Regulations (EU) 2024/259 and (EU) 2026/266, on fishing opportunities in the Mediterranean and the Black Sea.
• The agreement signed in early 2026 between the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food and ten autonomous communities for inter-regional hunting and fishing licenses.

Management of spaces and eel management

The decree aims to classify inland water bodies and determine the fish utilization regimes according to their ecological characteristics. The different categories of fishing spaces are expressly regulated:

• Controlled fishing zones.
• Free fishing zones.
• Zones designated for professional fishing.
• Areas declared non-fishable for reasons of conservation or temporary protection.

The regulation will also incorporate measures to adapt the regional regulation of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla), a species with an unfavorable conservation status, to European provisions and current conservation and recovery strategies.

Updated licenses

The system for issuing and managing inland fishing licenses will be updated to incorporate the inter-regional license and offer different validity periods adapted to the needs of the users. The announcement rules out non-regulatory alternative solutions, considering that the approval of a new decree is the only appropriate option to update the regional legal framework, composed of decrees 152/1990 and 35/2013 and Order 30/2016.

The consultation, signed in València on August 17, 2026, by the regional secretary of Environment and Territory, Sabina Goretti Galindo Benito, represents the first step toward a comprehensive regulation that will affect fishers, associations, and all citizens interested in the conservation of Valencian aquatic ecosystems.

Source: Diari Oficial de la Generalitat Valenciana, no. 10440, August 31, 2026, section V (Announcements), section C) Other matters (official reference: DOGV-C-2026-27663).