Sardines and anchovies, among the most popular fish in Malaga

The Malaga fishing fleet catches around 150 different species in the waters off the province, but one is particularly popular: sardines. In 2017 they caught nearly three million kilos (2,984,862) of those, which was 42.5 per cent of the total catch (7,023,948 kilos).

The sardines sold for 5,673,266 euros, which is more than 25 per cent of the total turnover of the sector (22,334,567 euros). This gives an idea of the economic importance of fishing for the province. However, the volume caught last year was the lowest for the past four years. In 2014, the fleet caught 4,620,201 kilos of sardines.

Anchovies were the second most-caught species (769,898 kilos), followed by mackerel (629,898), octopus (563,653), sardinella (238,394) and red mullet (106,454). However, the second most profitable species was not anchovy but octopus, at 4,310,893 euros. The anchovies caught off Malaga only sold for 2,318,300 euros.