The octopus campaign this year is like that of a normal year. Although in the month of July 10 times more than the same month last year has been caught, it does not mean that more octopus was caught than the average of the previous years, but that 2020 has been a disastrous year for the sector. This was clarified by José Manuel Rosas, Bueu’s Senior Patron on the microphones of Radio Pontevedra, “last year was of an unusual scarcity, this year in the month of July the catches multiplied by ten“.
Even so, the pleasures of Bueu complain that there is little: “This year is complicated, there is quality but little quantity, I do not know why the press says that there is a lot of octopus if it does not reach the food markets“Clarifies the Greater Pattern of Bueu in this sense that it is common for little octopus to be caught in the months of August and September and he adds that in the month of July around 22 tons were caught in this brotherhood.
The shortage of octopus in the benches increases Its price, which varies between 13 and 15 euros per kilo depending on the size. Also, in the case of the Plaza de Bueu, there are only two stalls that sell octopus at this time.
If we analyze the situation, in Galicia we produce only 20% of the octopus we consume, which implies that most of the octopus we eat is imported from Morocco or Mauritania.
Where is the fish caught in the Galician estuaries sold then? According to José Manuel Rosas, the brotherhoods sell it to a greater extent to large refrigeration companies and points to Italy, Japan, China or the United States as the main countries interested in the star cephalopod. He also emphasizes that “the octopus is booming“ since many restaurants only bet on offering their customers Galician octopus.
Making a general reflection, the placeras of Bueu point to the shortness of the closures and the irregular catches as factors that directly interfere in the octopus scarcity: “When there is a lot of octopus, unfortunately, you can fish the size that you should not and the amount that you should not“.
Rosas refers to these factors, stressing that if the regulations are respected, this octopus campaign can be a good one since: “There are a lot of offspring of about 800, 900 grams that if allowed to grow can give good results in winter“.
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