Also, the Gulf of Cádiz fleet will be able to fish Iberian sardines and anchovies starting from February 1.
Ministerio de Agricultura, Pesca y Alimentación
The General Secretariat of Fisheries in Spain has announced that the Spanish fishing fleet in the Atlantic and the Cantabrian Sea will have an Iberian sardine quota of 17,332.2 tons for 2025, which is a 16% increase compared to the previous year.
This modification has been made based on the recommendation of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), along with Spain and Portugal, which jointly manage the sardine fishery in Iberian waters.
The distribution for Spain involves vessels using xeito nets (a traditional type of fishing gear used in the northern regions of Spain), purse seiners in the Cantabrian Sea and Northwest, and those using highly selective gears such as the racú and piobardeira (traditional and highly selective fishing gears).
Finally, the purse seine fleet in the Gulf of Cádiz will receive 6,754.7 tons, which will be individually distributed among the vessels.
Additionally, the Secretariat has added two new stocks for this species in Zone 9 (Atlantic), corresponding to the distribution area of the Atlantic slope of the national fishing grounds of the Cantabrian Sea, Northwest, and Gulf of Cádiz.
Furthermore, this year, the fleet will be able to fish Iberian sardines and anchovies starting from February 1. This early start will help improve fishing companies' viability and profitability of the catches.
Last year, the Spanish Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food, Luis Planas, announced that the purse seine fishing fleet in the Gulf of Cádiz will be allowed to catch 7,000 tons of anchovy in 2025, seven times more than in 2024.