The Guardia Civil has seized two boats in the Port of Mazarrón with five kilos of fish caught illegally as they did not respect the minimum sizes required. Among the species found were 14 specimens of squid, a bream weighing 900 grams and two kilos of pheasant, a conglomerate of juveniles of various species and whose fishing is prohibited.
SEPRONA officers observed a fishing boat dedicated to the small-scale fishing of the «chanquete», which requires specific authorisation, towing a dinghy, which is why they proceeded to inspect both vessels after docking in the fishing port of Mazarrón as they had been observed fishing in a nearby area.
Once the two vessels had been inspected, the agents found a bag containing pheasant, a conglomerate of young fish of different species, which must be returned alive to the sea at the time of capture as they are immature fish and their capture is forbidden, hidden in the main vessel.
In the second boat, SEPRONA officers found a bag containing squid and a bream hidden in one of the hatches, although it was only authorised for fishing for chanquete, and it is forbidden to fish with other fishing gear at the same time.
As a result of the inspection, the Guardia Civil seized more than two kilos of pheasant, fourteen units of squid weighing almost five kilos and a specimen of bream weighing nine hundred grams and thirty centimetres in length.
As a result of the operation, the Guardia Civil reported the fisherman for infringements of Law 3/2001, on State Maritime Fishing, for the capture of species of an unregulated size or weight and for having caught these species when the boat was only authorised to fish for the chanquete.
It should be remembered that fishing for immature specimens can seriously endanger the families of the species caught, creating a future problem for the fishing grounds.
