Villajoyosa, Santa Pola and other ports red mullet trawl fishery

Overview

	SPECIES Red mullet, Mullus barbatus
	FISHING GEAR Chalut

Fishery

Red mullet is caught by small-scale fleets using trawl nets along the Spanish Mediterranean coast.

This fishery uses bottom trawling where cone-shaped nets are dragged along by a vessel. Divergent panels, located at the front of the trawl net, allow it to open up horizontally. The top opening of the trawl net is ensured by floats attached to its upper part. A footrope attached to the bottom of the trawl net ensures it has contact with the sea floor.

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
Regular assessment of stock levels Restriction on depth and stock area in place to protect vulnerable marine ecosystems	Knowledge to be improved concerning stock levels of certain species of unwanted by-catch  Data needs to be gathered to assess the fishery’s impact on sensitive habitats and endangered, threatened and protected species  Lack of a long-term fisheries management plan

> Download this fishery factsheet

> Read the pre-assessment report of this fishery