Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1027 — Volantina Trawler Derogation

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1027 of 8 May 2026 extends the derogation granted to Slovenia from certain technical measures in Council Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 concerning management measures for the sustainable exploitation of fishery resources in the Mediterranean Sea (the MED Regulation). Specifically, it extends the permission for Slovenian fishing vessels using volantina trawl gear to operate within minimum distance-from-coast and minimum sea-depth thresholds that would otherwise apply under the MED Regulation.

This regulation is a practical instrument of EU fisheries management, but it sits within a layered framework of Common Fisheries Policy law that vessel operators, national fisheries authorities, and compliance advisers must navigate carefully. Understanding the derogation requires understanding the underlying framework it derogates from.

The MED Regulation and Its Baseline Restrictions

Council Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 established a Mediterranean-specific fisheries management regime, addressing the distinctive ecological conditions and traditional fishing practices of the Mediterranean Sea and adjacent waters, including the Adriatic Sea in which Slovenian territorial waters lie.

The MED Regulation's general technical measures include minimum depth and distance restrictions for trawling. Article 4 of the MED Regulation generally prohibits the use of trawl nets in waters shallower than 50 metres and within 3 nautical miles of the coast. These restrictions exist to protect coastal nursery habitats, juvenile fish populations, and the spawning grounds that sustain commercially important species in the Mediterranean.

The restrictions are calibrated to Mediterranean conditions generally, but the Adriatic's hydrography is atypical. Large sections of the northern Adriatic — including the waters of Slovenian territorial jurisdiction — are shallow by Mediterranean standards. A blanket 50-metre depth prohibition would effectively exclude small-scale traditional fisheries from substantial portions of their traditional fishing grounds.

What Is Volantina Trawling?

The volantina is a traditional Adriatic trawl technique distinct from standard bottom trawling. It involves a small-mesh trawl net deployed at mid-water or near-bottom level using a specific rigging configuration that differs from the demersal otter trawl in its gear geometry and catch selectivity profile.

The volantina targets small pelagic and semi-demersal species characteristic of the northern Adriatic ecosystem. It is a traditional practice of Slovenian small-scale fishers operating from the port of Piran and the surrounding coastal area.

Because volantina operations are conducted in shallow coastal waters — the northern Adriatic shelf does not reach 50 metres depth across much of its extent — compliance with the MED Regulation's baseline depth restriction would make the volantina fishery unviable as conducted.

The Derogation History and Regulation 2026/1027

The Commission has granted successive time-limited derogations to Slovenia for volantina trawling since the MED Regulation entered force. Each derogation is subject to conditions: the gear must comply with mesh size requirements, the vessels operating under the derogation must be registered in the national fleet segment, and the derogation may not be used as a basis for expanding fleet capacity.

Commission Implementing Regulation 2026/1027 extends the existing derogation for a further period, confirming that registered Slovenian volantina vessels may continue to operate within the restricted zones subject to the conditions set out in the regulation. The extension reflects the Commission's assessment, informed by advice from the Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF), that the volantina fishery as conducted does not pose a material threat to the conservation objectives that the MED Regulation's restrictions are designed to achieve.

The CFP Framework: Articles 15 and 18

Commission Implementing Regulation 2026/1027 is adopted within the framework of the Common Fisheries Policy as established by Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013. Two articles of that Regulation are particularly relevant to understanding the derogation's context.

Article 15 of Regulation (EU) 1380/2013 establishes the landing obligation — colloquially known as the discard ban. It requires that all catches of species subject to catch limits or minimum conservation reference sizes be landed and counted against quota. The landing obligation applies to volantina fishing to the extent that the target species are subject to minimum conservation reference sizes under Annex III of Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006. Operators fishing under the 2026/1027 derogation remain subject to Article 15 and must not rely on the derogation as cover for discarding practices that would otherwise be prohibited.

Article 18 of Regulation (EU) 1380/2013 establishes the regional cooperation mechanism under which member states sharing a sea basin may submit joint recommendations to the Commission for technical measures specific to that basin. The Adriatic Fisheries Management Plan developed under Article 18 by Italy, Slovenia, Croatia, and Greece provides the regional context within which the volantina derogation sits. The joint recommendations developed under Article 18 inform the STECF assessments that the Commission relies upon when deciding whether to extend derogations such as that in Regulation 2026/1027.

Compliance Implications for Vessel Operators

For fishing vessel operators affected by Regulation 2026/1027, the practical compliance obligations are as follows.

Operators must verify that their vessel is registered in the national fleet segment authorised to use the derogation. The derogation is not automatically available to all Slovenian-flagged vessels; it is limited to vessels in the specific segment identified in the regulation and associated fleet register.

Operators must comply with all gear specifications set out in the regulation, including mesh size, gear dimensions, and any technical modifications required to distinguish volantina gear from standard trawl gear. Non-compliance with gear specifications during an inspection invalidates the derogation claim and may result in the catch being treated as taken in violation of Article 4 of the MED Regulation.

Logbook records must accurately reflect the derogation basis under which operations were conducted. National fisheries authorities will cross-reference logbook data, vessel monitoring system records, and the national fleet register when assessing compliance. Discrepancies between these sources are the primary trigger for enforcement action.

Operations under the derogation are limited to the geographic zone and seasonal windows specified in the regulation. Operating outside those parameters — even with volantina gear — does not attract the benefit of the derogation.

Broader Significance for EU Fisheries Law

While Regulation 2026/1027 addresses a narrow and geographically specific situation, it illustrates a broader feature of EU fisheries law compliance: the layered interaction between framework regulations, regional technical measures, and time-limited implementing acts. For vessel operators and their compliance advisers, the operative law at any given moment is not simply the MED Regulation or the CFP basic regulation — it is the current state of all applicable implementing regulations and derogations, which change on different renewal cycles.

National fisheries authorities in Slovenia, Italy, Croatia, and other Adriatic member states maintain authoritative registers of current derogations and their conditions. Vessel operators who rely on historical familiarity with derogation terms without checking the current implementing regulation text risk operating under conditions that have changed at renewal.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does Regulation 2026/1027 apply to non-Slovenian vessels using similar gear in the Adriatic? No. The derogation is specific to Slovenian-flagged vessels operating in Slovenian territorial waters. Italian and Croatian vessels operating similar traditional gear in their own territorial waters may be subject to separate national implementation measures or separate derogations granted under the MED Regulation framework, but these are distinct from the Slovenian derogation.

What happens when the derogation expires? When a derogation expires without renewal, operations that relied on it immediately become subject to the baseline MED Regulation restrictions. Operators must either cease those operations or apply to their national authority for documentation of a new derogation once granted. There is no grace period for continued operation under an expired derogation.

Where can operators find the official text of Regulation 2026/1027? The Official Journal of the European Union, published at eur-lex.europa.eu, is the authoritative source. The regulation is also indexed in the EUR-Lex consolidated version of the MED Regulation as an amendment to its derogation annex.

Sources

• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2026/1027 of 8 May 2026 extending the derogation from Council Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 for Slovenian volantina trawl vessels
• Council Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 of 21 December 2006 concerning management measures for the sustainable exploitation of fishery resources in the Mediterranean Sea, Article 4 (Prohibited fishing areas and methods)
• Regulation (EU) No 1380/2013 (Common Fisheries Policy basic regulation), Article 15 (Landing obligation), Article 18 (Regional cooperation for conservation measures)
• Scientific, Technical and Economic Committee for Fisheries (STECF) — Adriatic fisheries assessment reports
• EUR-Lex, Council Regulation (EC) No 1967/2006 consolidated version