Illegal Octopus Fishing Reaches Alicante Coast: How Traps Were Set

Illegal octopus fishing has reached the coasts of Alicante. The Civil Guard intervened a vessel dedicated to this illegal practice in the bay of Santa Pola. They set illegal and unmarked traps to catch these animals.

The intervention took place on February 5th alongside the Maritime Fisheries Inspectors of the Government Subdelegation in Alicante, as part of a coordinated operation that led to the release of four octopuses.

The Fisheries Inspectors observed from the coast how a semi-rigid boat with two people on board, one equipped with a diving suit, was placing pieces of pipe on the seabed as traps.

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After intercepting the vessel with the support of the Special Group of Underwater Activities (GEAS) and the Provincial Maritime Service, the Civil Guard identified its occupants and inspected the material they carried. The inspection revealed tubs, tools, and a bottle of sodium hypochlorite (bleach).

During the initial intervention, the agents managed to recover an illegal trap. Subsequently, a new reconnaissance was conducted with specific diving equipment to thoroughly search the seabed.

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It was there that a total of eight homemade traps made from PVC pipes were located and seized, some of them anchored to the seabed with the help of heavy tools. Inside four of them were live octopuses, which were released back into the sea.

These fishing devices lacked any type of marking or identification, thus violating current regulations. This requires all professional gear to be properly identified with the name and registration of the vessel.

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Thus, after the checks were carried out, the non-compliant material was seized and the corresponding sanction proposals were processed, ranging from 601 to 60,000 euros.

The use of such illegal traps poses a serious threat to the sustainability of the marine ecosystem, as they target protected species without control, even juvenile specimens below the regulatory weight of 1 kilogram.

Moreover, this illicit activity severely harms professional fishermen by introducing catches outside the legal marketing channels, such as fish markets.

Some of these catches may end up in the hospitality industry, acquired through irregular channels, without the minimum sanitary and traceability guarantees required for fishery products.