The Ministry of Rural Affairs and Agricultural Policy has granted a total of 3,739 licenses for salmon fishing in a season that starts this Saturday and will last until July 15. In parallel, the department has granted another 1,499 inter-community licenses for trout and salmon fishing in different autonomous communities.
The Director General of Agricultural Planning, Marcos da Rocha, has made these data public during the inauguration of the XXVI Salmon-Capenastur Fair in Cornellana (Salas), where he has supported the new river fishing regulations, highlighting that it seeks to reconcile the preservation of ecosystems with sustainable management of fishing resources.
In accordance with current regulations, salmon catches are reduced by 75% and restricted to one specimen per fisherman per year, compared to the two authorized in 2025. The Asturian Executive recalls that this legal framework is in line with the current situation of fish populations and the river environment, supported by technical studies that indicate a reduction in adult salmon, an improvement in juvenile recruitment, and a notable decrease in catches.
The regulation also establishes an annual individual quota of two salmon, of which only one may be kept, so that it will be permitted to catch one kept and another released, or two released. Once the annual quota per river is reached, the permit holders of the fishing grounds will only be able to continue with the catch-and-release method.
The global annual quotas also experience a sharp decrease, going from 620 last year to 154 in the current season. The distribution by river basins is determined as 60 salmon for Nalón-Narcea, with a maximum of 25 in the free zone; 52 for Sella-Piloña, with a limit of 21 in the free zone; 30 for Cares-Deva, with a maximum of 12 in the free zone; 5 for Esva and 7 for Eo.
These quotas may be increased by up to 30% if a good run of salmon is confirmed before June 10. In addition, the fishing schedule has been modified, with a half-hour delay in the start of the morning period and an advance of the same duration in the closing of the afternoon session, which translates into one less hour of fishing per day.
The salmon fishing season, both catch and release and catch and keep, opens this Saturday and will end on Wednesday, July 15. The delay in the start date is due to the later arrival of specimens observed in recent years and aims to facilitate the first fish reaching refuge areas.
The new regulation also incorporates variations in fishing grounds and closed seasons. In the main salmon fishing section of the Narcea River, fishing will only be permitted in fishing grounds starting June 1st, and closed seasons are extended, with the closure of all upper sections of the rivers from the 15th of that month, with the aim of creating natural refuges for salmon in the upstream phase.