PORTUGAL Photo Story of 3-5 Photos (YRE Comp 23-24 Winner/ 1st place/ Photo Story)

Manuel Cruzeiro, a fisherman for over 28 years, started octopus fishing at a time when the quantity of this mollusc was abundant. With the start of large-scale industrial fishing, Manuel has seen the potential productivity of his sea harvests diminish, About 30 years ago there were a lot more fish, but now there are bigger boats, (...) . Theyre 20 or 30 metre boats, theyre at sea all year round, they go much further out to sea and the octopus doesnt come ashore, and what does come ashore is very little.

This trade is uncertain, it depends on the weather and the state of the sea, yet there is no support to counteract all the adversities of this branch of the primary sector, leading to a low level of young people joining the profession, a lack of investment and abandonment. Its hard for small fishermen to keep up with the industrial changes that are suffocating them and causing traditional fishing to die out. In 2001, there were 23,580 registered fishermen, and in 2021 there were only 14,917. Fishing is ending, fears Manuel.