Rising and falling price flashes for fish, like those seen during the Christmas campaign or the record paid in Avilés, can seem dramatic. The first hundred kilos of tuna in the year sold for 369 euros per kilo, a detail that, given media coverage, can mislead the public into thinking seafood carries exceptionally high economic value.
But this could hardly be further from reality. Prices for the main commercial species traded under Asturian rules are now close to levels from two decades ago, with some species even cheaper. One shipowner consulted for this article noted,
“Fish should be affordable. Costs go up with catching, yet the prices paid to fishermen do not keep pace; this dynamic is not sustainable.”
LA NUEVA ESPAÑA, aligned with the same media group, traced price movements for five fish varieties to verify the claims from local fishermen. The core species of the Asturian fleet—hake, bonito, xarda, mackerel, and bocarte—along with diesel used by fishermen, were examined.
Today, hake and anchovy fetch lower average prices than in 2004; bonito and mackerel have risen less than 25 percent in value, while xarda has seen its price double, markedly impacting the regional economy.
Against this backdrop of stagnant or falling fresh fish prices, diesel—the main operating cost for most fishing vessels—rose by about 231 percent, effectively nearly tripling in value. Even after accounting for the latest energy squeeze tied to the Ukraine war, fuel costs would be about 100 percent higher than they were sixteen to seventeen years ago, meaning a doubling of fuel expenditure per refueling.
An experienced Avilés fisherman remarked,
“It doesn’t feel like we’re paying twice as much for diesel, but there’s no doubt we’re making far less money from catching the same pounds today than a decade or so ago.”
Meanwhile, catch volumes for some species with strict quotas, like the Volanta hake, threaten to suppress extraction efforts, creating a restrictive pattern that hurts the fleet’s overall activity.
Prices got cheaper
Examining the statistics further, the average price per kilo of hake, a staple for many households, was 5.22 euros in 2004 and 3.82 euros in 2021 under Asturian rules, a devaluation of 37 percent. Even lower, the average price dropped from 4.74 euros per kilo in 2005 to 2.01 euros last year.
Regarding bocarte, it is important to note that the stock condition eighteen years ago was poorer, and fewer tons were landed, which pushed prices higher due to supply and demand. Yet the same rule does not uniformly apply across all fisheries, where irregular drops in supply do not always translate into price increases.
Over the past twenty years, bonito has appreciated by 23.3 percent (from an average EUR 3.22 to 3.97 per kg) and mackerel by 21 percent (from EUR 0.76 to 0.92 per kg). Yet this rise in value sits alongside a CPI increase of about 49 percent in Spain between January 2000 and December 2020, underscoring a widening gap between consumer prices and what fishermen earn at the dock (INE data cited by observers).
Fuel saving
In the face of price movements for fish, which constitute the fleet’s sole income source, diesel costs have surged: today shipowners pay nearly four times more for each liter than two decades ago. This pressure helps explain why fleets have delayed certain coastwide xarda campaigns or why some operators rejected participation in the so‑called “bonito race” to the Azores, a journey of about 800 miles, and other long hauls.
The volatility in fresh fish and fuel prices also sheds light on why more and more shipowners are abandoning boats or shutting down operations, frustrated by balancing increasingly thinner margins.
The rule is “within a week” waiting for the better
The first bonito shipment of the year arrived on schedule, keeping the auction tradition alive: on Wednesday, June 1, the Galician vessel Siempre Peco landed, with Avilés rule buyers paying 2,076 kilos and the Alimerka supermarket chain offering a record 369 euros per kilo for the first batch in the tub. Yet once the beach festival subsides, questions remain about when regular landings of albacore will resume and meet fishermen’s needs.
Sources along the Avilés route estimate several vessels will reach the Azores by the end of the week or early next week. Market insiders say catches are still hard to come by, but signs point to improving chatches as the season progresses.
In summary, the evolving price landscape for both fish and fuel highlights the fragility of the sector’s balance. As costs outpace earnings, many fleets face tough decisions about scale, timing, and the willingness to endure continued volatility in a market that is tightly bound to quotas and global energy dynamics. The current pattern suggests a cautiously optimistic outlook, tempered by the realities of production costs and access to stable markets.