Spain opens sardine season with a maximum catch of 18,962 tons

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food of Spain, by decision of the General Secretariat of Fisheries, has set the start of fishing for the Iberian sardine from 00:00 today, March 20, 2023. The Spanish Navy will have the highest available quota in recent times, at 18,962 tons, with an increase of more than 4,000 tons compared to the available quotas in 2022. It is also the earliest start of the fishery in recent years, after more than three months of closure, as it opened in early April in 2022. Together with Portugal, the country with which the management of the fishery has been coordinated for many years, the European Commission has been informed that the initial amount available to catch by both fleets is 56,604 tonnes. latest recommendation from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES). The 18,962 tons allocated to Spain are distributed between the purse seine fleet of the Gulf of Cadiz, the purse seine fleet, racu and piobardeira of Cantabria ...