Galician shellfish industry faces critical decline

The Galician shellfish industry is facing a severe crisis, with commercial volumes of bivalves dropping by more than half over the last decade. According to data from GaliciaPress, sales of bivalves in Galician fish markets fell from 7.77 million kilograms in 2015 to just 3.74 million kilograms in 2025.

Specific species have seen drastic declines: the babosa clam fell by 89.2%, the fina clam by 87.3%, and cockles by 80.9%. José Antonio Pérez Sieira, president of the Galician Federation of Fishermen's Guilds, attributed the mortality to environmental factors, including intense rainfall that reduced salinity and extreme heatwaves.

In Pontevedra, educational workshops have been organized under the ‘Mar e Rías Pesca & Turismo’ project to demonstrate the labor involved in shellfish harvesting and the relationship between resources and the estuary.