Algarve fishing group proposes six-week dredge fishing ban

The Algarve Fish Producers Organisation (Olhãopesca) has proposed a closed season for dredge fishing along the Algarve coast from 1 September to 15 October, aiming to protect bivalve mollusc stocks. The proposal follows an exceptional suspension of this year's usual closed season, granted earlier to help fishers recover from severe storms between November 2025 and March 2026. Olhãopesca says that measure achieved its goal of economic and social recovery, but observations of significant numbers of juvenile clams and other bivalves now justify a new pause. The proposal, informed by an IPMA research campaign, will go before the Zone South Dredge Fishing Monitoring Committee, with further measures possible if IPMA's report warrants them.