The General Directorate of Fisheries and Aquaculture has decreed the closure of the Iberian sardine fishery starting at 00:00 hours on Saturday, August 1, for the purse seiners, racú, and piobardeira vessels of the Cantabrian and northwest, once it has been verified that the quota assigned to this fleet in the current campaign has been completely consumed.
According to the Ministry of Fisheries, the sardine campaign concludes "with good economic data," as the kilo has been paid on average at 1.50 euros, that is, 15 cents more than the average of the previous year and 50 cents above that in 2024, "which has contributed to improving the profitability and socioeconomic viability of fishing companies," it indicates in a note.
This year, the fleet started with an initial quota of Iberian sardine of 16,848 tons, 2.79% lower than that of the previous campaign, although it has been able to extend the activity for a few days thanks to 1,000 additional tons achieved through exchange with Portugal, after intense negotiations between the governments of both countries.
Of that extra quota, the General Secretariat of Fisheries has distributed 834 tons to the purse seiners, racú, and piobardeira vessels of the Cantabrian and northwest, 10 tons to the boats that fish with the xeito gear, and 156 tons to the purse seine fleet of the Gulf of Cádiz.
In total, the measure has affected nearly 700 vessels from Galicia, Asturias, Cantabria, the Basque Country, and Andalusia, of which 624 correspond to the modalities of purse seine, racú, piobardeira, and xeito in the Cantabrian and northwest fishing grounds.
Furthermore, although on August 1 the closure of the so-called Olympic fishing for the purse seine, racú, and piobardeira of the Cantabrian and northwest will be applied, those boats that have temporary transmission authorizations for sardine from the purse seine of the Gulf of Cádiz will be able to continue fishing.
Based on the analysis carried out to calculate the optimization surplus and taking as a reference the consumption as of August 31, the General Secretariat of Fisheries will decide whether to activate the optimization mechanism for the Iberian sardine. Thus, the authorized fleet that has consumed its quota and meets the established requirements will be able to continue this fishery until the common pool is exhausted or until directed fishing ends, as stated in the current resolutions for the fishing ground.