Fishermen heartened by plans to increase Portugal’s sardine quota

Fishermen have been heartened by confirmation that Portugal sardine quota for 2021 could be increased to 30,000 tons. They have been campaigning (on the basis of knowledge of activity in the sea) for increased quotas for years. The initial quota for this year was set at 10,000 tons. Now Minister of the Sea Ricardo Serrão Santos has admitted there exist conditions to increase fishing quotas by a further 20,000 tons, and extend the ‘sardine season’ into November. The pity is that this news comes in a year when demand for sardines will be at an ‘all time low’ in that tourism is down and festivals in which sardines were the ‘key delicacy’ have all been cancelled.