Caleta de Velez and other ports anchovy purse seine fishery

Overview 

	SPECIES Anchovy, Engraulis encrasicolus
	FISHING GEAR Purse seine

Fishery

This fishery uses purse seines to catch anchovy by surrounding the stock with a wall of netting. Seine fishers generally operate at night. Fisherman mostly use sonar to locate schools of fish, determine their species and to determine the approximate size. A small vessel dragged behind the main vessel is used as a light source to attract the fish.

This fishery operates in Spain in the northern Alboran Sea.

Pre-assessment results

Results of the MSC pre-assessment, conducted using the precautionary principle (bar filled = benchmark achieved). Only some of the data is presented here. For a full listing of the results, please visit the Medfish website.

STRENGTHS	POINTS FOR IMPROVEMENT
Selective gear with low impact on habitats Low risk of unwanted by-catch such as sardine, horse mackerel, sardinella, skipjack and red seabream Stock assessment available but unofficial	Stock in poor health Assessment and stock monitoring need to be improved and biological reference points need to be set Lack of specific and long-term objectives Insufficient knowledge about fishery zones and impact on the ecosystem Weekly catch limits deemed to be inadequate

> Download this fishery factsheet

> Read the pre-assessment report of this fishery