Artisanal fishermen in the south of Spain who fish in the Strait of Gibraltar are demanding the government allocate them a quota for bluefin tuna, which would offset the hardship they have suffered due to the loss of other commercial species since algal blooms appeared in their waters in 2015.
They state that bluefin stock has made a strong reovery and are abundant. Nicolás Fernández Muñoz, director of the Organisation of Artisanal Fishermen Producers (OPP72) has requested ‘that the central government grants fishing opportunities for bluefin tuna for fishermen from Conil, Barbate, Tarifa and La Atunara, because it is the only species that we find in the Strait.’
He commented that since algal blooms appeared on the Atlantic coast of Cadiz, in less than ten years other valuable species, including octopus and their feed species of molluscs have disappeared as the algae forms a heavy layer that blankets the seabed.
‘With the increase in the bluefin tuna quota, a percentage of this increase should be shared to meet the needs of artisanal fisheries,’ Nicolás Fernández Muñoz stated, adding that this is in accordance with the Sustainable Fishing Law approved in 2023.
