Fishing in the Canary Islands

Minimum fish sizes

Identify fish, check minimum sizes and follow the rules for your fishing area.

Apply for a fishing licence for Canary Islands online

Canary Islands: minimum sizes by species

This overview concerns the Canary Islands. Additional local rules may apply in internal waters (aguas interiores) and protected areas.

National rules for Canary Islands external waters

Fish species	Scientific name	Minimum size / weight
Garfish	Belone belone	25 cm
Axillary seabream	Pagellus acarne	20 cm *
Atlantic bluefin tuna	Thunnus thynnus	30 kg / 115 cm **
Bogue	Boops boops	11 cm
European anchovy	Engraulis encrasicolus	9 cm ***
Comber	Serranus cabrilla	19 cm *
Large-eye dentex	Dentex macrophtalmus	22 cm *
Black seabream	Spondyliosoma cantharus	23 cm *
Gilthead seabream	Sparus auratus	19 cm
Atlantic chub mackerel	Scomber colias	20 cm ****
Island grouper	Mycteroperca fusca	35 cm
Atlantic horse mackerel	Trachurus trachurus	15 cm ****
Golden grey mullet	Mugil auratus	14 cm
Mediterranean parrotfish	Sparisoma cretense	22 cm *
European seabass	Dicentrarchus labrax	36 cm ****
Dusky grouper	Epinephelus marginatus	45 cm
Two-banded seabream	Diplodus vulgaris	22 cm
Common pandora	Pagellus erytrinus	22 cm
Atlantic pomfret	Brama brama	16 cm
Red porgy	Pagrus pagrus	28 cm *
Bigeye tuna	Thunnus obesus	3.2 kg
Yellowfin tuna	Thunnus albacares	3.2 kg
Salema	Sarpa salpa	24 cm
Red mullets	Mullus spp.	15 cm
Pink dentex	Dentex gibosus	35 cm
European pilchard	Sardina pilchardus	11 cm
White seabream	Diplodus sargus	22 cm
Blacktail comber	Serranus atricauda	20 cm *
Black moray	Muraena augusti	56 cm
Brown moray	Gymnothorax unicolor	57 cm

Other species under EU rules

Fish species	Scientific name	Minimum size / weight
European hake	Merlucius merlucius	27 cm
Blackspot seabream	Pagellus bogaraveo	33 cm
Swordfish	Xiphias gladius	25 kg or 125 cm

A minimum size alone is not permission to catch a fish. Closed seasons, protected species, additional permits and the rules for the specific waters still apply. Asterisks indicate additional notes in the underlying regulations.

Identify fish: illustrated guides

Canary Islands: minimum sizes by species — Enlarge illustration