Until May, the Basque fleet has fished 4,620 tons of anchovies and 7,945 mackerel

Euskaraz irakurri: Euskadiko float 4,620 tona antxoa eta 7,945 tona berdel harrapatu ditu maiatzera arte

The Basque inshore fleet has captured until May 1 4,619,021 kilos of anchovy, which represents 29.37% of what was captured at the state level; and 7,944,550 kilos of mackerel35.56% of the total.

The data has been released today, Friday, in the acts of the ‘Old Eguna’, held in the Gipuzkoan town of Getaria, in which the Minister of Economic Development, Sustainability and the Environment of the Basque Government, Arantxa Tapia, participated; the mayor of the town, Haritz Alberdi; the Director of Fisheries and Aquaculture, Leandro Azkue; the President of the Brotherhood of Getaria, Emeterio Urresti, and the president of the Brotherhoods of Gipuzkoa, Eugenio Elduayen.

In the case of anchovies, of the 4,619,021 kilos caught, 2,653,741 kilos were unloaded in Basque markets, at an average price of €1.08/kilo, with a global turnover of €2,869,564, while in markets outside Euskadi, the Basque fleet unloaded 1,965,280.50 kilos, at an average price of €1.91/kilo, with a global turnover of €3,745,956.12.

During the entire campaign last year, the Basque fleet as a whole unloaded close to 8,112 tons of anchovy: 2,790 tons in the Basque guilds (44% more than in 2020) and 5,322 tons outside the Basque Country (18% more). than in 2020). The average sale price was €1.55/kilo.

As regards mackerel, the total number of kilos caught by the Basque fleet until May 1 was 7,944,550 kilos, 35.56% of what was caught at the state level. Of these, 5,380,732 have been unloaded in ports in the Basque Country, at an average price of €1.41/kilo, with a global turnover of €7,555,212.52, and 2,563,818 kilos have been unloaded outside the Basque Country, at an average price of €1.44/kilo, with a global turnover of €3,705,314.09.

In the words of Counselor Tapia, “the development of the coastal area so far can be described as satisfactory, from the point of view of catches, and it is possible that for fthe end of May or the beginning of June we exhaust the quota established for this first semester”. “On the other side of the balance – he added -, this year we also confirmed that the anchovy most in demand by the canning industry, the largest one, is appearing in distant waters, which, taking into account The cost of fuel is taken into account, it is assuming a higher cost for the ships as they have to travel further”. To mitigate this extra cost, Tapia recalled that his Department has enabled a line of extraordinary aid for the primary sector.

Anchovy boxes, today, in Getaria

In addition, throughout the presentation, the promotional campaign of the Anchovies with Eusko Label, a quality certification that was launched last season, in order to guarantee the “freshness, size and flavor of the anchovies caught on our coasts by boats from the Basque fleet”.

As reported by the Department in a note, only those specimens auctioned in the ports of Euskadi that exceed the minimum established size and meet the quality requirements are awarded the Eusko Label. They must have been fished by authorized vessels of the Basque Country fleet engaged in inshore fishing using traditional fishing gear. Anchovies with the Eusko Label are distinguished by a numbered label that identifies the boxes, on which the day and port of sale appear.