The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food has issued an order to make a first payment of 3,210,853.38 euros to 3,798 shipowners who have 4,034 fishing vessels as State aid to compensate for the increase in the price of fuel as a result of the war in the Middle East. In Asturias, 136 shipowners benefit from a total of 88,111 euros.
This aid compensates for the increase in the price of fuel consumed between 22 March and 30 April. The General Secretariat of Fisheries is working on the management of a second group of beneficiaries, corresponding to those who submitted claims and will publish the corresponding resolution with the final list and the corresponding amounts.
This aid is part of the set of measures to support the fishing sector promoted by the Government to compensate for the increase in fuel costs, which are included in article 51 of Royal Decree-Law 7/2026 of 20 March, which approves the Comprehensive Plan of Response to the Crisis in the Middle East.
In order for the beneficiaries to receive the aid as quickly as possible, the procedure is processed ex officio and without the need for a request from the interested parties.
For the processing of this aid, the vessels that have carried out fishing activity during the period between 22 March and 30 April, and that have therefore had expenditure on fuel, have first been verified.
The calculation of the aid is carried out per vessel, multiplying the unit amount by the daily fuel consumption and by the number of days of activity that it has carried out within the eligible period (up to a maximum of 200,000 euros per vessel and 400,000 euros per shipowner).
The aid is set at a limit of EUR 0.20 per litre of diesel, but it also provides for the possibility of additional payments in the event that 70% of the increase in the average fuel price for the entire eligible period is higher than the sum of the EUR 0.2/litre already paid in intermediate payments.
The daily fuel consumption of the fleet is established according to the daily consumption per boat published in the Economic Survey of Maritime Fisheries, year 2024, whose data are based on the information provided by the shipowners themselves.
The Government has extended the period initially provided for in the aforementioned royal decree-law for the granting of temporary compensatory aid to fishing vessel operators. In this way, the eligible period extends from March 22 to September 30, 2026.
The measures promoted by the Government of Spain have been authorized by the European Commission, which allow the granting of this type of State aid. In application of this framework, Spain has established the aid intensity at the maximum allowed, equivalent to 70% of the difference between the average weekly price of fuel and the one it had before the beginning of the conflict in the Middle East, 0.697 euros per litre (23 February).
The territorial distribution of aid per base port is as follows:
