GALP Costa Brava marks ten years and €3.5m in fishing aid

The GALP Costa Brava, the local action group that supports fishing communities along the coast, has celebrated its tenth anniversary. The organisation has handed out more than €3.5 million in grants to local projects since it was founded in 2016.

The anniversary was marked with a commemorative event at the Espai Medes. It brought together institutional representatives, local stakeholders, maritime and fishing professionals, and entrepreneurs with links to the Costa Brava.

Organisers used the occasion to review a decade of work. They also looked ahead to the projects, people and opportunities expected to shape the coming years.

What the GALP is

GALP stands for Grup d'Acció Local Pesquer, or Fisheries Local Action Group. It was set up in 2016 to promote the sustainable development of the Costa Brava's maritime and fishing areas.

Its members include fishermen's guilds, known locally as confraries, public administrations and other local public and private bodies. The Federació Territorial de Confraries de Pescadors de Girona, the umbrella body for the province's fishing guilds, also works with the group.

Roses Town Council and the Confraria de Pescadors de Roses have been members from the start. The group now has 20 members.

It covers eight coastal municipalities: Llançà, el Port de la Selva, Cadaqués, Roses, l'Escala, l'Estartit, Palamós and Sant Feliu de Guíxols. Several of these towns are close neighbours of Empuriabrava and Castelló d'Empúries.

A decade of grants

Over the past ten years, the group has awarded more than €3.5 million in funding to projects in the area. According to the organisation, participation has grown steadily, and the number of applications has reached record levels.

One of the funded projects is the Espai Juli Soler - Aula Gastronòmica de Roses, a gastronomy classroom in Roses. The group presents it as an example of its aim to promote products, know-how and resources connected to the sea and the land.

The GALP's mission also includes increasing fish consumption. It backs "blue economy" projects, which are economic activities linked to the sea, aimed at what it calls the triple sustainability of the sea: social, economic and environmental.

At the anniversary event, speakers highlighted a way of working based on cooperation, support for project promoters and the ability to turn ideas into real projects. They also stressed that the model connects administrations, the fishing sector, economic and social agents and entrepreneurs.

The event gave particular attention to the people launching new projects. According to the organisers, these people help keep the Costa Brava's fishing communities alive, active and with a future.

Climate adaptation projects

The group takes part in several European projects, including SEADITO and Life eCOadapt50. Both aim to generate knowledge and support actions that address current and future challenges facing the maritime and fishing sector.

In 2025, under Life eCOadapt50, the GALP carried out a series of climate adaptation measures.

A water audit was carried out at the Costa Brava's fishermen's guilds as part of the Punt Blau project. Portable desalination units were also installed on two fishing boats as a pilot test.

The group bought a sensor so that the work of Josep Pasqual in monitoring sea temperature and sea level can continue. It also launched a study on the behaviour of filamentous algae.

Two workshops were held, one in the Baix Empordà and one in the Alt Empordà, to explore the culinary potential of aquaculture on the Costa Brava.

The group says it wants to strengthen this line of work over the next few years. The approach is to identify local challenges, connect knowledge with initiative and turn both into concrete projects for a more resilient and sustainable coastline.

The next ten years

As it enters its second decade, the GALP Costa Brava says it intends to keep building partnerships and supporting new initiatives. It also aims to put people at the centre of the transformation of the region's maritime and fishing areas.

Our Take

For residents and visitors in and around Empuriabrava, the GALP's work is mostly invisible. Its results can end up on the plate, in the harbour and along the shoreline. Roses, the main fishing port closest to us, has been involved from the start. This suggests the group's projects are directly relevant to the northern Costa Brava rather than only to the Baix Empordà.

The focus on climate adaptation stands out. Water audits, desalination trials on boats and sea temperature monitoring point to a sector preparing for drier years and warmer water. The workshops on aquaculture in cooking also fit the region's wider effort to promote local produce, seen at events such as the Empordà Wine Fair in Figueres and the Lladó cheese fair.

It is worth watching whether the desalination pilot on two boats is extended to more of the fleet. Readers should also look out for any results from the algae study. With applications at record levels, another open question is whether available funding will keep pace with demand.