The General Secretariat of Fisheries establishes the management measures for the mackerel fishery for the fleet.

 

Directed fishing can start next Monday, February 21, setting catch limits based on sections based on the number of crew members for the 47 vessels listed in Lugo and the 172 vessels listed in Asturias.

The amount available for said fishing at this time is more than 612 tons for vessels from the province of Lugo and 1,644 tons for vessels from the province of Asturias, figures in line with those available in 2021.

The Secretary General of Fisheries, Alicia Villauriz, has today signed and communicated two resolutions establishing additional provisions for the management of the mackerel fishery for vessels with a base port in Lugo and Asturias, of the different modalities of trawling and fence, as has been done in recent years based on order APA / 315/2020, of April 1. These resolutions, which will be published shortly in the BOE, enable these vessels to start directed fishing next Monday, February 21.

 

At this time, more than 1,644 tons of mackerel are fixed, still provisionally, to be fished in a directed manner by the 172 vessels listed in Asturias, and more than 612 tons for the 47 vessels listed in Lugo. Catch limits are established based on sections according to the number of crew members, and just over 3 tons are reserved for by-catch throughout the year, in the case of Asturias, and 32 tons in the case of Lugo. These figures are in line with those that were available in 2021.

 

This provisional available amount results from the allocation to Spain for the year 2022, taking into account the deduction for the fine derived from the 2009 overfishing and adding at this time the surplus not caught in 2021 and the part of the mentioned fine that can be deducted. Although the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) agreed globally falls by 7% compared to 2021, based on the scientific recommendation available for 2022, the quota remains at the same levels as the previous year due to surpluses from the previous year and the possibility of deducting the fine for overfishing in 2009

 

In the coming weeks, the same ordering may be carried out for vessels of these same modalities with a base port in other provinces, as well as assignments for other fleets, as is the case for individual vessels or groups of vessels in joint management for the boats from the Cantabrian and Northwest trawling and purse seine surveys, based on current regulations.

 

In this way, the management of the mackerel fishery will be configured in the year 2022, a migratory species that over the next few weeks and well into spring will be present in the waters of our Cantabrian and Northwest coast, with a movement of East to West. This is one of the fishing stocks of greatest interest to the Spanish fleet, which makes its coastal area one of the main annual fisheries in the Bay of Biscay and Northwest.