The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development is working on a modification of the order that regulates octopus fishing on the Andalusian Mediterranean coast with the aim of adding one more month to the current closed season and implementing a specific census of authorized vessels for this fishery.
In the current regulations, the closed season for this species extends for three months in the summer and, according to the Junta, "it is necessary to contain the increase in fishing effort levels in order to guarantee the conservation of octopus populations and the profitability of the vessels participating in the fishery."
Sources from the Ministry point out to Europa Press that, since the order of February 2016 came into effect, "there has been a progressive increase in the fishing effort levels exerted by the small-scale fishing fleet on the Mediterranean coast on octopus populations, with a progressive and significant increase in the number of authorized vessels (234) and the number of trips made in this fishery."
The department headed by Ramón Fernández-Pacheco emphasizes that the extension of the closed season "would be covered by aid for the temporary cessation of fishing and shellfish activities of the fleet based in Andalusia within the framework of the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (Fempa)."
The Junta recalls that the order that currently regulates this activity is about a decade old and that, during this period, "notable changes have occurred both in the biological situation of the fishing grounds and in the situation of the resources, resulting from both the notable increase in effort and the climatic and environmental changes that have occurred over time, in addition to changes in work methods and technological advances in vessels and traps themselves, making it necessary to update and adapt some of the technical rules governing the development of this fishery."