This exceptional modification was approved by the Co-management Commission of Recreational Fishing of the Balearic Islands, following a proposal from the sector supplying materials for raor fishing. The aim is to promote traditional recreational fishing activity.
The season will now begin on Sunday, August 31, 2025, to facilitate the availability of shrimp for raor fishing on the first day. At the request of the island councils of Ibiza and Formentera, in the Pityusic Islands, the season will still open on September 1.
According to the recently published Order in the Official Gazette of the Balearic Islands (BOIB), the Govern, through the Directorate General of Fisheries, has confirmed that this year the fishing of raor (Xyrichtys novacula) in the inland waters of Mallorca and Menorca will start one day earlier than usual. The Director General of Fisheries, Antoni M. Grau, explained: “This exceptional modification was approved at the second meeting of the Co-management Commission of Recreational Fishing of the Balearic Islands, following the proposal of the sector that supplies materials for raor fishing. The aim is to promote traditional recreational fishing and to ensure the supply of shrimp for the first day of the season.”
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The Government Brings Forward the Start of ‘Raor’ Fishing in Mallorca and Menorca’s Inland Waters by One Day
Grau also clarified that the measure is valid exclusively for the inland waters of Mallorca and Menorca and does not affect Ibiza, Formentera, or the outer waters of the Balearic territory, where the legal start date remains September 1. In the Pityusic Islands, the later start date was maintained at the explicit request of the island councils.
This exception will only apply in years, such as 2025, when the official start date of the season —September 1— falls on a Monday. “This is a measure that does not endanger the sustainability of the resource, which is in an excellent state of conservation,” Grau stressed.
The Govern reminds all fishers that the maximum catch limit is 50 raors per person per day, in order to guarantee the sustainability of this traditional fishery. Although compliance with the seasonal ban is generally respected, fisheries inspectors will intensify monitoring in the coming days to combat illegal fishing and penalize offenders. Violating the closed season is classified as a serious infringement under fisheries regulations and may result in fines starting at €151 per fish, potentially adding up to very significant amounts depending on the case.
In addition, in marine reserve areas, catches must be reported to the Govern’s Marine Resources Service, preferably through the “Diari de Pesca” mobile application. Since 2019, 5,400 declarations have been registered, showing that raor fishing accounts for 12% of the total fishing effort and 15.7% of annual catches (by weight) in recreational boat fishing across the Balearic Islands.
Since the seasonal ban was introduced in 2000, the average size of raors has progressively recovered across the Balearic Islands. From 2013 onwards, the average size has consistently surpassed that recorded in 1994. During the last season, the populations studied directly by the Govern in Mallorca showed an average length of 162 mm, a 34% increase compared to 1999 (124 mm). In terms of weight, the average individual raor in 2024 weighed 58 g, double that of 1999 (26 g), the year immediately before the introduction of the ban. “For the season about to begin, similar results to 2024 are expected, though not substantially better, since the biological size limit for the species is close to 180 mm, only reached in areas closed to fishing,” Grau pointed out.
The seasonal ban on raor fishing was introduced to prevent catches during its reproductive period. Recent studies by the Marine Research and Aquaculture Laboratory (LIMIA) and the Mediterranean Institute for Advanced Studies (IMEDEA) have confirmed that this measure has facilitated the recovery of the species, increasing both its abundance and its average size.