Maritime police clamped down on illegal fishing in the Ria Formosa area in three official operations within 24 hours in the Tavira and Olhão coastal zone last week.
In Olhão, near the island of Armona, four officers of the Polícia Marítima, with the support of a boat and a vehicle, seized 148 kilos of various species of illegally caught fish including bream, sea bass and mullet.
In Santa Luzia, Tavira, 170 kilos of octopus below the legal size limit were confiscated.
The illegal fishing was carried out in darkness but the boats were detected by night vision equipment.
In a third operation, a total of 19 fishing nets of illegal dimension, used for catching undersize fish and bivalves at night – later to be sold at half the normal market price in Spain – were also seized.
The Polícia Marítima has warned that they will continue to tighten the net on fishing with illegal equipment and in prohibited areas.
Most of the confiscated fish is donated to organisations in need and other worthy causes.
