Ecuador prohibits hake fishing until October 31 due to biological closure

The Ministry of Economic and Productive Development prohibited the capture, extraction, transport, processing, and commercialization of the hake resource (Merluccius gayi) during the 2026 biological reproductive closed season, set between September 15 and October 31. The decision is contained in Agreement No. MDEP-SRP-2026-0007-A, signed in Manta on September 10, 2026, and published in the Official Registry Supplement No. 376 on Thursday, September 24, 2026. The regulation exempts products captured and retained before the start of the closed season, provided there is stock verification by the Fisheries Control Directorate.

The institutional framework of the measure

The agreement was issued by the Undersecretary of Fisheries Resources, Hugo Alfonso Vera Serrano, using the delegation conferred by Ministerial Agreement No. 110 of September 24, 2025. The portfolio, currently named the Ministry of Economic and Productive Development, was created through a merger by absorption arranged by Executive Decree No. 425 of June 18, 2026, which integrated the Ministry of Production, Foreign Trade and Investments and the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries into the structure of the Ministry of Economy and Finance. The head of the portfolio is Minister Sariha Belén Moya Angulo.

The closed season is based on the technical report “Closed Seasons and Management Measures for Fisheries and Bioaquatic Resources” from the Public Aquaculture and Fisheries Research Institute (IPIAP), submitted via official letter No. IPIAP-IPIAP-2026-0278-OF on July 28, 2026, and on the relevance and legal reports of memorandums No. MDEP-DPPA-2026-0084-M and MDEP-DAINAP-2026-0090-M. The immediate precedent is Ministerial Agreement No. MAGP-SRP-2025-0001-A of September 30, 2025, which set the previous closed season between October 1 and November 15, 2025.

What is prohibited and who it binds

Article 4 of the agreement prohibits, throughout the entire period, the capture and extraction of hake both artisanally and industrially, as well as transport, processing, and commercialization. Article 2 establishes that the regulation is of mandatory observance and application nationwide.

Article 5 imposes a specific restriction on industrial vessels authorized for the multipurpose fishing of hake and shallow-water shrimp:

• They may not carry nets intended for the capture of hake on board during the closed season.
• They may only carry nets for operations directed at shallow-water shrimp, in accordance with Agreement No. MPCEIP-SRP-2024-0227-A of August 8, 2024.

Exception, control, and sanctions

The Sole Transitory Provision exempts the processing, transport, and internal and external commercialization of hake captured and retained prior to its start from the closed season period, subject to stock verification carried out by the Fisheries Control Directorate. The execution of the agreement is entrusted to the Undersecretariat of Fisheries Resources, through the technical directorates of Artisanal Fisheries (DPA), Fisheries Control (DCP), and Industrial Fisheries (DPI), with the support of the National Directorate of Aquatic Spaces (DIRNEA).

Any contravention will be sanctioned in accordance with the Organic Law for the Development of Aquaculture and Fisheries (LODAP), its General Regulation, and the applicable legal framework. The agreement entered into force upon its publication in the Official Registry, that is, nine days after the start of the closed season period it declares.

Impact for the sector

The measure directly hits the artisanal and industrial fleets operating on hake and the processing and export chain, which will only be able to continue moving the previously retained and verified stock. The calendar is also moved forward compared to 2025, when the closed season began on October 1, meaning that shipowners must adjust their operations and inventories to an earlier and longer prohibition window.

Source: Official Registry, Supplement No. 376, Thursday, September 24, 2026, Section I (Executive Function), p. 8 (official reference: Agreement No. MDEP-SRP-2026-0007-A).