The fishermen do not find hakes on the Catalan coast

GironaThis summer, the counters of Catalan fish markets are missing one of the most prized fish of this time of year. It is the sonso, a very small fish, about 10 centimeters long, which is fished from the end of winter to autumn. This year, however, the 26 boats of Catalan sonso fishermen have barely found any catches, and by the last week of June, they had already declared the season over. They have moored their boats because it was not profitable to set sail every morning, and they hope to resume activity next year, expecting the situation to improve.

According to the management plan regulations, the fishing campaign for this species lasts nine months, with a closed season from December 15 to March 1, to allow the young to grow. However, this year the fishermen, who go out every other week, have only been able to fish for four months and have closed down much earlier than planned.

Toni Navarro, representative of the sonso fishermen in the Girona regions and a fisherman from Blanes, explains that in the spring, he still found sonsos in his area. Then, very surprisingly, there were only some left in Platja d’Aro, and all the fishermen went to this spot. "This year, at least, we were lucky that there were many in Platja d'Aro, and that is not normal. But then we all went there, and it was over, also because they put up swimming buoys for safety, and we could no longer access some areas where there were still some," explains the fisherman. In the first few months, he managed to catch up to 30 kilos on each trip, spaced out over time, but now he has had his boat in port for a while and dedicates himself to fishing for Atlantic bonito to earn a living.

The sonso fishermen use a unique technique, halfway between encircling and trawling, and, like Navarro, during the months when their boats are moored, they have had to reinvent themselves. However, they assure that it is not easy to have to dedicate themselves to another specialty for part of the year, as each gear requires knowledge about when and where to fish, and, in addition, specific tools are needed that require investment and maintenance.

Human pollution

Given the current scenario, it is still too early to make assessments about the causes of scarcity. The "sonsaires" (a type of fish), in the middle of the summer season, have not yet met with representatives from the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food, responsible for the management plan that establishes fishing quotas and studies on the species.

For now, fishermen in the sector point out that the situation is a consequence of the sum of many factors, but, besides the rise in sea temperature or fishing pressure, they place the central cause as the lack of food in the coastal strip, in the first two miles, where the "sonso" lives, due to human impact.

"All the water from the mountains ends up in the sea, and so does all the waste. And, even though there are treatment plants, they are not capable of removing chemical substances such as anabolics, drugs, antibiotics, or cleaning products. And all this impacts zooplankton, phytoplankton, crustaceans, and larvae in the food chain, especially in this first stretch of sea," argues Javier Pulido, president of the "sonsaires" of Catalonia and a fisherman from Arenys de Mar.

He adds: "The treatment plants, on the other hand, are capable of removing biomass of organic matter, which means that the animals do not have this substrate to eat. That is why the "sonsos" are getting smaller and scarcer, because they lack food to maintain the population, just like with crabs and mussels, which live in this same coastal strip." Furthermore, the rivers, which also contribute sediments that enrich the biodiversity of the seabed, are also flowing with less water each year. "Before, the waters were not so transparent and crystalline, they were murkier, but there were many more fish. Now the criteria are more focused on making the sea more suitable for tourists to swim in than for the fishermen's ecosystem," Pulido concludes.

Freezing the sonso, the only solution for restaurants

In L'Estartit, for the past three years, in May, the Sonso Days are celebrated, with fishermen and restaurants, to promote the product with a very good public reception. Months later, given the lack of specimens in the sea, Joan Massagué, captain of the town's guild, points to the free mobility of fishermen along the entire Catalan coast as one of the issues that hinders the survival of endangered species: "The sea is like a small garden: if you have yours and plant a tomato plant, you watch it grow, you water it, and you wait for it to be fully ripe to harvest it. But if you plant it in a shared garden, someone can always pick it green before you", describes Massagué.

In some restaurants in L'Estartit and the surrounding areas of the Costa Brava, accustomed to serving floured and fried sonsos (alone or accompanied by fried eggs or truffle), they still have the dishes on the menu despite the truncated end of the season, as they work with frozen product from a few months ago. The establishments place large orders when there is good quality produce and, with very efficient freezing systems, they keep the product very fresh in perfect condition. However, if catches do not increase next year, no matter how much the fish can be frozen to extend the season, the gastronomic offer will inevitably be affected.