«Saturday there is no longer any fresh sardine», announces José Correia, seller at Mercado de Faro. This is because next Saturday, October 12th, will be the last day on which you can buy fresh sardines in Portugal, as from that date onwards, fishing for that fish will be banned again.
Nathaniel Correia, fish seller for seven years in the Mercado de Faro and that he buys supplies at the auction in Olhão, he added that “sardines are at their limit”, being one of the most sold fish in the market.
July was the month when the price of sardines was highest in the market in the Algarve capital. According to Nathaniel Correia, the price reached 5 euros per kilogram. This Friday, despite everything, was not much cheaper: 4 euros.
The capture and unloading of sardines is prohibited from Saturday, according to an order of the Secretary of State for Fisheries published on the 9th in Diário da República.
“From 12:00 on the 12th of October, it is prohibited to catch, keep on board and unload sardines, with any fishing gear”, states the dispatch.
Sardine fishing has been managed "with the aim of ensuring the gradual recovery of the resource, in line with the objectives of the Common Fisheries Policy". For this reason, the sector has stopped every year, as well as measures to protect juveniles and impose annual limits on the possibilities of capture.
This year, sardine fishing had resumed on June 3rd, although with management measures and defined catch limits, after having been stopped since mid-September 2018.
The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea is evaluating the state of the resource in order to define fishing opportunities for Portugal and Spain in 2020.
Note: article written by students Rodrigo Viegas, Inês Maria and Flávio Costa, from the Professional Photography Course at ETIC_Algarve.
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