The Principality of Asturias has made official the regulations for the next elver campaign, in contrast to the suspension of the campaign in the Basque Country, with a cap of 30 days of fishing by professional, a measure that seeks to reduce pressure on the resource and keep alive a practice deeply rooted on the Asturian coast.
The scheme, designed in coordination with the sector and aligned with community criteria, also includes licensing controls, traceability through weighing y digital record, and the requirement to use only traditional art of sieve.
Calendar and maximum effort
The campaign will run from November 1, 2025 to March 31, 2026Within this period, each professional will have 30 effective days of activity to catch elvers, a limitation that acts as a brake on accumulated fishing effort.
This planning is adjusted to the European eel management plans already to European Union regulations, seeking a balance between sustainability, economic viability and preservation of the shellfish tradition.
Licenses, control and permitted arts
The regional Executive will maintain a regime of limited licensing, with renovation aimed at professionals, and will strengthen the control systems on catches with digital registration tools and weighing verifications to guarantee the product traceability.
- Granting of a limited number of professional licenses.
- Mandatory weighing and electronic recording of catches.
- Exclusive use of traditional sieve art, without exceptions.
These measures, of a technical and operational nature, are designed to ensure that the monitoring of the fishery is agile, reliable and verifiable by the administration and the sector itself.
Local management zones and plans
The ministry has worked with the Fishermen's Guilds of Cudillero and San Juan de la Arena, as well as those of Llanes, Ribadesella and Bustio, to define actions by area and adjust the activity to the unique characteristics of each estuary and stretch of coast.
There will be specific plans in the Nalón estuary, in eastern Asturias and in the Tinamayor estuary, in addition to the delimitation of areas in the west and center of the coast, in order to regulate the presence of fishing gear and optimize capture points.
Fleet and aid for definitive cessation
In parallel, the Principality will activate during the next two years a plan for the permanent suspension of vessels to adjust fleet capacity to the real possibilities of the fishery and strengthen the sustainability of the resource.
The initiative, co-financed by the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund (EMFAF), contemplates the scrapping of vessels or their conversion to activities other than commercial fishing, reducing the effort in unbalanced segments.
Context and evolution of the measures
Since the end of the last century, Asturias has implemented adjustments to respond to the decline in catches: 60% reduction in licenses since 1995, prohibition of recreational fishing of certain phases (yellow and silver eel) and the aforementioned limit of 30 effective days of activity per professional.
The sector has been able to adapt to demanding restrictions to safeguard a practice that is part of the identity and economy of the coast, according to the General Directorate of Maritime Fisheries.
With this roadmap, the Administration and the guilds seek to combine the continuity of an emblematic fishery with the stock conservation, relying on control tools and territorial planning tailored to each estuary.
The 30-day limit, traceability controls and zone management make up a package that prioritizes the long term sustainability and gives professionals certainty about how and where to carry out their activities during the campaign.