The ban on fishing for raors (razor fish) is lifted tomorrow, September 1st, and will last until March 31st

The ban on raor (razor fish) fishing is lifted tomorrow, September 1st, and will last until March 31st. It should be remembered that fishing for this highly prized species in the Balearic Islands is totally prohibited from April 1st to August 31st, in order to protect it and ensure sustainable fishing.

In this sense, the General Director of Fishing, Antoni M. Grau, has explained that the amount of fishing allowed per license per day is 50 units, always respecting the 5 kg/person, with a maximum of 300 units per boat. "Raor (razor fish) fishing is mainly of a recreational nature. There are more than 12,000 recreational boat licenses in the Balearic Islands. There are few people who do it professionally. In addition, they do it occasionally", emphasized Grau.

The declaration of catches is mandatory for recreational boats in all the marine reserves of the Balearic Islands and can be done through the online application or on paper. All boats that fish in the marine reserves of the Balearic Islands will have to process the authorization to fish in these protected areas. Processing is free and can be done through the website of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and the Natural Environment.

The General Director of Fisheries has also pointed out that based on the data collected with these declarations (4,221 between 2019 and 2023) the raor (razor fish) fishery "represents 12% of the effort and 15% of the annual catch (kg) of the recreational boat fishing in the Balearic Islands, which is equivalent to 86.7 tonnes per year». In addition, Grau has pointed out that the raor (razor fish) is the most sought-after species in recreational boat fishing. Thus, it is the first species caught in number of individuals and the second in weight (after the squid).

The veda del raor (razor fish) was established for the first time in the year 2000, and it reached until July 31; since then, in accordance with biological criteria, it has been expanded and supplemented with other measures. For example, in all the marine reserves of the Balearic Islands, a minimum hook of 5.7 mm has been established for their capture. As a result of all these measures and the high degree of compliance with the ban, the presence of the species and catches have been maintained in all fishing areas, with an average increase of 20% in the size of the fish and 100% by weight.