The Minister of the Sea, Marta Villaverde, attended the unloading of crab at the Ribeira fish market today, coinciding with the first days of the 2026-2027 fishing campaign. During the visit, the regional official highlighted the quality of this crustacean and the importance of its commercialization for the economic activity of the artisanal fleet and Galician fish markets.
Villaverde inquired about the development of the initial working days and the sector's impressions. She emphasized the good quality of the captured specimens, although the first landings are showing uneven results between different ports due to factors such as weather conditions.
The initial commercialization data reflect a positive trend in prices, with an average of 15.66 euros per kilo in the first two days, an increase of over 20% compared to the same period last campaign. This rise occurred in a context of lower landings, so it will be necessary to await the evolution of the coming weeks to assess the activity.
The head of the Sea department also highlighted the significance of the Ribeira fish market in the commercialization of this resource, being one of the main selling points for crab in Galicia. In the past 2025-2026 campaign, this market registered the sale of 67,530 kilos, with a first-sale turnover of 965,343 euros and an average price of 14.30 euros per kilo. The port has 53 authorized vessels for capturing this species.
Across Galicia, the last campaign closed with a turnover of 6.57 million euros, the highest in the analyzed historical series, after selling 425,910 kilos of crab. These figures represented an 8.5% increase in sales value compared to the previous season, despite a reduction in catch volume, reflecting the high market valuation of this product.
It should be remembered that the crab campaign will remain open along the coast between the mouth of the Miño river and Estaca de Bares, while on the Lugo coast it will begin on November 30th. The experimental management plan establishes a maximum daily quota of 35 kilos per vessel, plus an additional 35 kilos for each enrolled crew member on board, aiming to ensure orderly and sustainable resource exploitation.
