Fishing industry in Portugal
The fishing sector in Portugal faced deep structural changes in terms of both the volume of its business and its working conditions since adhesion to the European Economic Community in 1986.
The EU has been paying special attention to the situation in Portugal both because of the characteristics of the Portuguese coastal area and the type of vessel used there.
Reflecting the current status of the national resources and restricted access to foreign fishing grounds, re-dimensioning of the fleet is part of the renovation and modernization process.
Garum (a type of fermented fish sauce) of Lusitania (present-day Portugal) was highly prized in Rome.
The Instituto Nacional dos Recursos Biológicos (INRB), as well as the Producer Organizations and Shipowner's Associations, are consulted and have an advisory role in the decision-making process.
INRB is also responsible for fish stock assessments within the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) and the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) frameworks.
INRB uses information collected during research surveys and in fishing ports, and also the catch statistics provided by DGPA.
At a national level, INRB has also the role of proposing technical measures to protect and maintain fish stocks.
These vessels are usually equipped to use more than one fishing method, such as hooks, gill nets and traps, and constitute the so-called polyvalent segment of the fleet.
Their physical output is low but reasonable levels of income are attained by virtue of the high commercial value of the species they capture: octopus, black scabbardfish, conger, pouting, hake and anglerfish.
The trawlers operate only on the mainland shelf and target demersal species such as horse mackerel, blue whiting, octopus and crustaceans.
In 1999, 40 Portuguese vessels were fishing in Moroccan waters, making Morocco the second-largest foreign fisheries ground at that time.
The main objective of the national fisheries policy, particularly since 2002, is to maintain the sustainability of the sector and reverse the negative tendency of recent years.
At the same time, fleet renewal and modernization has been promoted in order to reduce production costs and improve work safety.
Fishing effort is controlled by a licensing system, where acquisition, construction or modification of vessels requires prior authorization.
Recreational fishing is common and popular in inland fresh water streams, lakes, reservoirs and rivers.
The mainland's principal ports specialized in canning small pelagic fish, most of which sardine, are Matosinhos-Póvoa de Varzim area, Peniche, and Olhão.
A diversification drive is being attempted with the development of black scabbardfish canning industry, a barely exploited resource on the islands.
Portuguese processed fish products are exported through several companies under a number of different brands and registered trademarks like Ramirez, Bom Petisco, Briosa Gourmet, Combate, Comur, Conserveira, General, Inês, Líder, Manná, Murtosa, Pescador, Pitéu, Porthos, Tenório, Torreira, and Vasco da Gama.
[1] Species like the sardine, Atlantic mackerel, tuna, and the European hake are important for the Portuguese commercial capture fisheries.
There are also a number of universities awarding bachelor's, masters' and doctorate degrees in varied marine science subfields, as well as making research and development work.
