The Galicia Coast Guard Service, attached to the Ministry of the Sea, has intervened in the last seven days a total of 263.4 kilos of various species of fish and shellfish, in addition to 656 fishing and shellfishing gear considered illegal or contrary to regulations.
The balance of the control, surveillance, and fight against poaching activities carried out between August 10 and 16 closed with the opening of 46 records of presumed infringement and with various seizures along the entire Galician coastline.
The operations were carried out by the different operational units of the service (Portosín, Vilaxoán, Central Services, Vigo, A Coruña, Muxía, Ferrol, and Celeiro), through land controls and also from the sea, with vessels such as the "Irmáns García Nodal," the "Valentín Paz Andrade," or the "Mar de Galicia," in addition to joint devices with the Autonomous Police (ERPOL) and the Civil Guard (Seprona and Traffic).
Regarding the fishing and shellfishing gear removed from the sea for being unidentified, located in unauthorized areas or in violation of current regulations, the agents seized 503 traps (intended for octopus, spider crab, shrimp, and lobster), 129 specific gear for catching octopus, 25 pieces of gill nets, 15 votirón-type traps, a live well, and several hand tools.
As for the seized product, the largest volumes corresponded to octopus (117.7 kilos, among non-compliant batches and frozen goods without traceability), to spider crab (40 kilos seized in the Ría de Vigo), to the bicudo flatfish (30.2 kilos intercepted without documentation in Vilaboa), to the spider crab (31 kilos), and to different types of bivalves (more than 35 kilos among Japanese clam, babosa, fine clam, and razor clam). Smaller quantities of barnacle, squid, cuttlefish, lobster, ray, bream, and maragota were also seized.
Almost all the shellfish and fish seized that were still alive at the time of the controls in the rías were returned to the sea with the aim of protecting marine resources. The catches suitable for consumption that could not be reintegrated into the natural environment were delivered to charitable entities and social dining rooms.