The professional llampuga fishing season begins this Tuesday, 25th August, in Mallorca and will run until 31st December 2026. A total of 35 boats will take part this year in one of the island’s most traditional small-scale fishing campaigns. For recreational fishing, regulations allow a maximum of 10 kilos or five fish per person per day.
The 2026 llampuga season in Mallorca begins this Tuesday, 25th August, for the professional fleet using the traditional llampuguera fishing method.
The campaign will continue until 31st December and will involve 35 authorised vessels this year, all of them based in Mallorca.
Llampuga fishing is one of the most characteristic fisheries of late summer and autumn in Mallorca and is particularly important for the island’s small-scale fishing fleet.
When does the llampuga fishing season start in Mallorca in 2026?
Professional llampuga fishing using the llampuguera method begins on 25th August 2026 and may continue until 31st December.
This activity is reserved for professional small-scale fishermen using this traditional fishing method.
A total of 35 vessels will take part this year, all of them based in Mallorca.
The fishermen’s guilds of Cala Rajada and Alcúdia traditionally account for the largest volumes of catches.
More than 114,000 kilos of llampuga caught last year
The 2025 season ended with 114,459 kilos of llampuga caught, generating €646,273 in revenue for the fishing sector.
Catches usually range between 80 and 120 tonnes per season, and the Directorate-General for Fisheries expects the 2026 campaign to achieve figures similar to last year in terms of both catches and revenue.
The producer organisation OPMallorcaMar also regulates catches by its members and sets a daily maximum of 150 kilos of llampuga per vessel.
What is the llampuga quota in 2026?
For the third consecutive year, the campaign is subject to a Total Allowable Catch (TAC).
EU Regulation 2026/266 sets a maximum for Spain of 45 vessels and 127 tonnes of llampuga.
This quota applies exclusively to vessels from the Balearic Islands, as they are the only region in Spain where professional llampuga fishing using capcers and the llampuguera method is practised.
The Balearic Government considers that this restriction allows the traditional activity to continue while helping to ensure the sustainability of the resource.
How much llampuga can recreational anglers catch in Mallorca?
The regulations also establish specific limits for those practising recreational llampuga fishing in Mallorca.
Between 15th August and 31st December, each recreational angler may catch a maximum of:
10 kilos of llampuga or five fish of any size per person per day.
This is a separate limit from the rules governing the professional campaign, which begins this year on 25th August for vessels using the llampuguera method.
Keep away from capcers: minimum distance of 250 metres
The Directorate-General for Fisheries also reminds recreational boat users of an important restriction.
Llampuga fishing using the llampuguera method is reserved exclusively for professional small-scale fishermen.
In addition, recreational vessels and professional boats using other fishing methods may not fish within 250 metres of the capcers used by professional fishermen to concentrate llampuga.
Failure to respect this distance may result in significant financial penalties.
What are the capcers used for llampuga fishing?
Traditional llampuga fishing in Mallorca is based on the behaviour of the species, which tends to gather beneath floating objects.
Fishermen use structures known as capcers, floating devices that attract and concentrate the fish before they are caught using the llampuguera method.
This system is closely associated with Mallorca’s small-scale fishing tradition and is one of the distinctive features of the campaign compared with other Mediterranean fisheries.
A fishing tradition closely linked to the end of summer in Mallorca
The start of the llampuga season is also one of the most recognisable moments in Mallorca’s fishing and gastronomic calendar.
The campaign coincides with the end of summer and the first months of autumn, when llampuga becomes increasingly common in fishmongers, markets and restaurants across the island.
The Balearic Government highlights the economic, social and cultural importance of a fishery closely linked to Mallorca’s small-scale fleet, with the 2026 season once again running until the end of December.
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