the Ebro River, and off the coast of Valencia, which is where boats from Adra,
Almería, and Malaga used to fish each season (Abad and Giráldez 1997). Nowadays,
only the largest boats from Adra and Almería work regularly on the Spanish east
coast during summer and only if anchovy species are abundant. In 2013, 22% of the
fishing activity and landings in the GSA06 (Northern Spain) were conducted by
purse seiners based in the GSA01.
Figure 16.9 shows the fleet by port between 1980 and 2017. Over time, all these
ports have experienced a great reduction in the number of boats. In 1980, the most
important fishing ports were Ceuta (North Africa) and Almería. Nowadays, Caleta
de Vélez is the most important by port and is also the one that has been less affected
by this decrease (Table 16.1).
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
<10
10-20 20-30 30-40 40-50 50-60
>60
Units
GT interval
SMR Fleet
1985
2017
Fig. 16.8 SMR purse seine fleet by GT interval (1985 and 2017)
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
Units
1980
2017
Fig. 16.9 SMR purse seine fleet by port (1980 and 2017)
568
A. Giráldez