Fisheries extends the ban on wedge clam fishing in the Gulf of Cádiz areas

The General Directorate of Fisheries, Aquaculture and Blue Economy has extended the validity of the technical measures that reduce the fishing effort for the grooved carpet shell (Chamelea gallina) in the bivalve mollusk production areas of the Gulf of Cádiz. The decision, adopted through a resolution signed on October 30, 2026, by said management center, is published in the Official Gazette of the Regional Government of Andalusia (BOJA) no. 218, of November 11, 2026, within section 3 of “Other provisions,” with the reference text no. 14777 and a length of two pages. Consequently, the restrictions approved at the beginning of October to regulate the capture of the species in the fishing ground remain in effect.

The text does not create a new regime, but rather extends the validity of the technical measures contained in the Resolution of October 2, 2026, from the same general directorate, which reduces the effort for the capture of the grooved carpet shell in the bivalve mollusk production areas of the Gulf of Cádiz. The competence corresponds to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development, whose organic structure is established in Decree 193/2026, of July 30, and the scope of application is limited to the bivalve production areas of that coastline, where the Andalusian shellfish fleet operates.

What changes and who is affected

The extension maintains the framework for the reduction of fishing effort that conditions the activity calendar of the shellfish vessels of the Gulf of Cádiz, particularly those operating with hydraulic dredges and towed rakes. Since this is an extension of already approved measures, the sector works with the same technical limitations and activity days, without the resolution published on November 11 introducing a different regime from that of October.

The affected group is the bivalve mollusk fleet, a segment whose bottom line depends directly on the working days set by the fisheries administration. Each extension of the measures implies reorganizing shifts, crews, and sales commitments with the fish markets and processing industries of the Cádiz coast.

The aid framework for the shellfish fleet

The ministry had already articulated economic support this year for the segment that captures grooved carpet shells with hydraulic dredges and towed rakes. The main elements are:

• The Order of September 7, 2026, published in BOJA no. 185, of September 23, 2026, which calls for 2026 the aid for the temporary cessation of the fishing and shellfish fleet with a base port in Andalusia.
• This call includes a specific line for the shellfish vessel fleet affected by the Management Plan for the capture of the grooved carpet shell in the Gulf of Cádiz, in the hydraulic dredge and towed trawl modalities.
• The total amount available in the call amounts to 8,575,000 euros, with no possibility of exceeding this amount.
• The funding is distributed as 70% charged to the EMFAF and 30% with funds from the General State Administration, except for the stoppages of inland water fleets and shellfish gathering on foot, afloat, or from a vessel, co-financed at 70% by the EMFAF and 30% by the Regional Government of Andalusia.
• The Order of September 9, 2026, published in BOJA no. 180, of September 16, 2026, also establishes the regulatory bases for aid for the definitive cessation of shellfish vessels that capture grooved carpet shells using hydraulic dredge gear in the Gulf of Cádiz.

The regulations supporting the measure

The applicable regime is based on a set of state and European regulations that the resolution invokes as coverage:

• Regulation (EU) 2021/1139, which regulates the EMFAF and provides in Article 21 for aid for the temporary cessation of fishing activity.
• Regulation (EU) 2019/1022, which establishes the multiannual plan for demersal fisheries in the Western Mediterranean.
• Royal Decree 528/2022, of July 5, which integrates the temporary cessation due to the reduction of fishing effort into Spanish regulations.
• The Order of September 2, 2022, modified in 2024, which sets the regulatory bases for aid for the temporary cessation of the fishing and shellfish fleet with a base port in Andalusia.

The extension now published is limited to keeping the technical measures of the October resolution operational, so that the fleet is not left without regulatory coverage upon the expiration of the initially planned period.

Impact on the sector

The decision arrives with the autumn campaign already well underway and affects a resource, the grooved carpet shell, which sustains a large part of the shellfish employment in the municipalities of the Cádiz coast. Producer organizations and guilds must once again adjust their capture and marketing plans to the extended conditions, while the administration keeps the path of stoppage aid open to compensate for the loss of working days.

Source: Official Gazette of the Regional Government of Andalusia, no. 218, of November 11, 2026, 3. Other provisions (official reference: text no. 14777).